The Night Within My Eyes
by Lady Karai
Summary: A sequel to KHII. When a ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. RikuxOC, SoraxKairi.
1. One

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Some warnings: lots of angst, character death, and tons of spoilers for KH, COM, and KH2. You are officially warned.

**

* * *

**

**One**

The little Gummi Ship shuddered violently as it rolled and spun in a loose spiral. Five of the half-dozen laser blasts that had followed it passed by harmlessly, but the last one grazed the left wing, sending a shock throughout its frame.

"That's it," the pilot grumbled through clenched teeth. He shook blond curls out of his eyes and growled, "_No one_ scratches my girl and gets away with it." Unfortunately, it was an empty threat, and he knew it. Five or six enemy ships he could have handled with ease; even ten would not have been too much trouble. But thirty was too many, even for him.

Behind him, his passenger chuckled slightly. He winced at the sound. How could she be so calm when only his superior piloting skills kept them from death? His mind flooded with the rumors that he had heard about her before leaving home. Whether or not he believed them, he had to agree that she had changed and not just outwardly.

"They're still firing on us, Sydney," she commented.

"I'm _aware_ of that, thank you," he snapped.

"All right," came the unperturbed reply. "I was just wondering because you don't seem to be firing back."

"I'm a bit busy at the moment."

"Well, I'm not doing anything except sitting here. Would you like me to take over the guns?"

Sydney flinched. If his hands hadn't been wrapped around the steering levers, keeping the ship away from the incessant blasts from their pursuers, he would have smacked himself in the head. She had set him up, and he had walked right into it.

"That's okay," he tried to convince her. "I'm doing fine by myself."

He heard her sigh. "You know, I would hate for our mission to fail just because a certain flyboy wanted to show off and impress me."

At that moment, another stray shot clipped the right side of the ship's nose, sending another tremor through her cockpit. "All right!' Sydney conceded. "You can help, but I'm not leveling out so you can get up here. You'll have to do that on your own."

"Fair enough."

A heartbeat later, in spite of the little ship's gravity-defying dance through the space lanes, she appeared in the seat next to him and strapped her body to the chair. She eagerly gripped the firing controls and quickly reduced the number of their pursuers from thirty to fewer than fifteen. The remaining ships backed off a bit although they continued firing.

Sydney smiled in spite of himself. "Not bad, gorgeous. When this is all over, maybe I'll consider making you my co-pilot. We'd make a great team."

She turned her dark eyes to him briefly. "Just steer, flyboy," she answered without emotion.

"_When_ are you going to stop calling me 'flyboy'?"

"When you stop calling me 'gorgeous'."

"Touché," he muttered, returning his attention to the starry space in front of him. His eyes scanned the horizon even as he continued his spins and loops, evading the blasts that continued to threaten them. It was much easier now, especially since his impromptu "co-pilot" would every so often shoot down another ship that had gotten too close.

Where in the name of blitz was this place? He was certain they would have reached it by now. Could Headquarters have given him the wrong coordinates? No, they would have double-checked it, triple-checked it even, to make sure they had given him every detail correctly. That's how important this mission was, important enough to take _her_ away from the front lines.

This King Mickey person was the only hope they had.

Sydney prided himself on his eagle-eye vision. After all, when you were a Gummi pilot, you had to be able to see in all directions at once or you risked ramming into something. Lanes tended to be naturally crowded even without the addition of enemy ships. Yet, in spite of his experience and famous eyesight, she spotted the castle first.

"Sydney! Look!" Her finger pointed out the front window at a large asteroid sporting a few specks of blue. As they continued to approach, the blue evolved into the rooftops of white turrets, rising high above the rock that was clearly now a small planet.

"Yes," Sydney breathed. "_Finally_." He patted the console in front of him and said gently, "Just a bit more, girl. Hang on, okay?" Lifting his head, he grinned broadly at the young woman next to him. "See, Yuko? I told you I'd get you there okay."

Yuko smiled back at him, a sight that pleased him greatly. That was the girl he remembered from their school days. Back before their worlds had descended into Hell.

A large explosion off the port side of the ship shocked both their gazes back to the front. At least two dozen ships had suddenly materialized between them and the planet that offered them safety.

"An ambush?" Yuko gasped.

"Blast!" Sydney yelled, executing a quick dive that saved them from the wall of fire that rolled overhead. His senses roared into overdrive, sending the ship through flips and turns that other pilots would have deemed impossible. Next to him, Yuko unleashed the full potential of the small craft's weapons, launching arrows of death in every direction. Unfortunately, due to Sydney's need to maneuver constantly, she had difficulty locking on to the targets, and most of her shots missed.

A glimpse of white and blue flashed through Sydney's line of sight. The castle was getting ever closer, but it was still not close enough. "Just a little more …" he whispered, almost as a prayer.

A shot from behind crashed into the rear of the ship, sending it hurtling off-course in a mad spin. Beside him, the weapons' console erupted into flames, and Yuko screamed in pain and surprise. With a wild cry of determination, Sydney forced the ship to obey him again.

"Yuko!" he called to her. She had slumped over in her seat, a thin line of blood beginning to appear from above her temple. She moaned slightly at his cry but did not regain consciousness.

More shots rammed into the small ship, and a blaze of warning signals sprang to life before Sydney's eyes. Slowly, he drew in a steeling breath, knowing what he had to do. He lovingly reached out a hand and caressed the control panel. "I'm sorry, girl," he said softly. "I really am. But I promised to get her there safely, and I'm going to keep that promise. I know you understand."

His fingers typed in a string of commands and finally hovered over the button that would confirm his orders. His other hand gripped the steering levers tightly, and a fierce expression of determination settled onto his face.

"All right, you heart-sucking monsters," he growled, "_eat this!_"

He pushed the button.

All the ship's remaining fuel poured into the engine at once, causing the back end to explode into a giant, roaring fireball. The few ships that were unfortunate enough to be tailing the little craft burst into flame and spiraled out of control. Several hit other enemy ships, creating a chain reaction of destruction. The Gummi Ship itself rocketed forward at incredible speed, following a crash course to the planet and its welcoming sanctuary.

* * *

A/N: Yes, the pilot's name is Syd. Yes, that was intentional, although the existence of FFVII's Cid in the KH universe caused the spelling change. So, yeah, the first chapter was all OCs, but the second chapter has people you'll recognize. And hey, look, it's up already! Okay, that was intentional, too.


	2. Two

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Two**

Riku leaned against a coconut tree with folded arms and watched Sora's reunion with Donald and Goofy in quiet amusement. The pair's enthusiasm had once again knocked Sora into the water, although from the younger boy's laughter, he didn't seem to mind. Riku smiled slightly. At first he had been so jealous of the deep friendship the three had created, but now he knew that those two were no threat to him and Kairi. Sora didn't replace friends with others; his heart was big enough for them all.

Beside him, Kairi giggled. "He's getting soaked. Think we should go rescue him?"

"Nah, he's fine. Let him be." Riku's gaze wandered over the Gummi Ship that had landed half on the beach and half in the water. What had happened at the castle that would cause the King to call them back so abruptly? He closed his eyes and visualized the letter that had arrived only a few days before. He had read it so many times that the words had practically burned themselves into his brain:

_Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_I hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying our time of peace. Unfortunately, that time may be coming to an end. Disturbing news has been brought to my attention, and I would like to discuss it with the three of you. I am sending Donald and Goofy to escort you to the castle. I ask you to please do me this favor for the sake of our worlds._

_Your friend and comrade,_

_Mickey Mouse_

Riku opened his eyes again, his brow furrowed in thought. The King had been vague, as usual. It didn't matter how many times he ran them through his head; he would get no more answers from those words. So, the sooner they left, the sooner they would find out what had happened. He straightened up and advanced on the three standing in the shallows. Kairi followed, confused by what seemed to her to be a sudden action from her quiet friend.

"Hiya, Riku!" Goofy called to him as he approached.

Riku gave him a half-hearted wave in response before turning to his best friend. "So, Sora, are we ready to go?"

"Okay, sure," Sora grinned, but his face fell when Kairi entered his view. He stepped around Riku to address her. "Um, Kairi, I really wish you would stay here. It might be dangerous, and -"

Kairi sighed dramatically and planted her fists on her hips. "Sora, we've been through this already. The King asked for all three of us, so I'm going. End of discussion. Besides," she smiled playfully at him, "if there is any danger, I'll be safest with you. Do I have to remind you that the last time you two went off without me, I ended up spending an uncomfortably long time in a nasty dungeon?"

Sora flinched slightly before he recovered and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his open face. Riku swallowed a smile at his involuntary reaction. Kairi had a definite point. Previously, Riku had done what he could to help her escape from Axel, but he had not been able to stop her abduction by Saïx and he had needed Naminé's help to free her. Now, Naminé was gone, and he had lost his powers of darkness. As much as he sympathized with Sora's desire to keep her away from danger, he had to admit that danger had a habit of finding them and the ones they loved.

"Let her come, Sora," he advised. "It's not like you have a choice anyway." Kairi turned to him at that and scrunched up her face in mock-annoyance.

"Yeah," Donald interjected. "Our guest is awfully pretty. Kairi's gonna have to keep an eye on Sora to make sure he behaves, huh, Goofy?" He subsided into a string of sniggers.

"Naw," Goofy replied with a wide grin. "Sora'd never betray Kairi. Not after all he's done for her." Kairi giggled as Sora flushed red. "Anyways," Goofy continued, his voice dropping to a scared whisper, "she looks pretty spooky to me. Her eyes remind me of a Heartless."

"Aw, phooey," Donald grumbled, stomping his foot in anger. "You're no fun."

Riku took a breath to question the two, but thankfully Sora asked for him. "Guest? What guest? Does this have something to do with the King's message? What's going on anyway?"

Donald and Goofy exchanged glances, and Donald shrugged. "We don't know everything either. Let's go, and we'll tell you what we do know on the way."

They all climbed into the Gummi Ship. After a brief spat between Sora and Donald over who would get to drive, involving more than a few flying feathers, the three teens settled into chairs in the back of the cockpit. Goofy turned around in his seat to address them as Donald muttered darkly to himself from the pilot's seat.

"All right then, let's see. It all started about a week ago when this strange Gummi Ship kersplashed down in the middle of the castle garden."

"A strange ship?" Sora interrupted. "Whose was it?"

"We didn't know. And me and Donald still don't know. It looked like it had been all shot up, and the back-end had fallen off. When we opened it up, the two people inside were hurt real bad. They were both un-cud-shush."

"Unconscious!" Donald corrected.

"Yup, and she stayed like that for a while. When she finally woke up, she talked to the King, but he didn't tell us what she said. Only that we hadta come get you."

"Wait a minute," Riku interjected. "You said two people came out of the ship, but then you switched over to just one, this 'she' you've been talking about. What happened to the other one?"

Goofy's entire body sagged, even his hat. "The feller … he didn't make it."

Kairi's hand flew to her mouth. "That's terrible," she gasped. Sora just stared, and even Riku could not hide his surprise. A death in Disney Castle? Had such a thing ever happened before in its entire history? The King's letter suddenly seemed much more serious and ominous than it had previously.

"So basically that's all me and Donald know," Goofy continued, trying to shake off the sadness that had gripped him. "When the girl woke up, she wouldn't talk to nobody but King Mickey, and he wouldn't tell us a thing. Told us to wait until we got you three, and then he'd tell everyone at once. He's been real serious, though, so it can't be good news." He nodded his head sagely.

"Sora," Kairi said softly. "I have a really bad feeling about all of this."

"Yeah," he agreed. Then, he sat up and, turning in his seat, smiled brightly at her. "But it'll be okay. Whatever it is, we can handle it."

His confidence slowly brought a smile to her lips as well, and she reached out and took his hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers and sat back in his seat again, letting their joined hands fall comfortably in the space between them. Kairi leaned back also, happiness tingeing her cheeks a delicate pink.

Riku looked away, fighting in vain against the sorrow that swept over him. Why did it hurt to see them so happy? He had gotten over his crush on Kairi a while ago, so that wasn't the reason. Maybe it was the fact that they _were_ so happy. The two of them had a bond that went far beyond friendship, a promise that even individually they would never be alone. And Riku, who had spent so much time alone in the dark and who had thought he would remain there indefinitely, had no such bond. Oh, he could have had a girlfriend if he wanted to - Selphie would have fallen over herself at the chance to date him - but what Sora and Kairi had was more than just that.

He smiled wryly to himself. _Jealous of Sora again, are you?_ Maybe so. But this time he wouldn't let it affect his loyalty to his friend. And there was always the chance that he would find someone for himself eventually. Although … No, he had already traveled to numerous worlds, and, even though he hadn't had the opportunity to chat up any girls, he had seen enough to know none of them were right for him. _Face it, Riku_, he thought sadly to himself. _The girl for you just doesn't exist._

But then, as he looked over at Sora and Kairi again, talking and laughing lightly together while their linked hands swayed back and forth, he remembered how Sora had smiled at him and told him not to give up hope. _"You gotta try and think positive."_ A small smile crept into Riku's face. All right then, he would try. There were many worlds, after all, and if he had learned anything through his adventures, it was that just about anything could happen.

* * *

A/N: I really don't like writing for Donald and Goofy. For one thing, the Grammar Nazi in me goes into convulsions ... _twitch_ ..._ twitch_ ...


	3. Three

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: The middle section of the chapter is a flashback, just in case you couldn't tell. I decided to go the way of many writers and remove it from the main narrative with a section break rather than putting up a wall of italics.

* * *

**Three**

Yuko stood at one of the windows in the large room they had given her, looking out into the garden at the wreckage of the ship. She had never even asked Sydney her name. Now she would never fly again. Reduced to scrap metal and the memories of better days.

Several walking broomsticks wandered about the garden, picking up pieces with arms that did not belong. A pair of small rodents directed them about their work. They skittered here and there, giving orders that, in spite of their lack of ears, the broomsticks obeyed. As she watched, Yuko half-expected Sydney to come charging out and yell at them for touching his "girl" without permission. But Sydney was …

Yuko closed her eyes as sadness overwhelmed her. When the Queen had told her the news, she had refused to believe it, had raged against them until they allowed her in to see him. And then she had sunk to her knees and stared. The little Queen had cried for her loss, but Yuko didn't cry. Not anymore.

Sydney would probably gripe at her for that. _What, I'm dead and you can't even spare a tear for me? Thanks a lot, gorgeous_. Although he was probably too busy in Heaven to concern himself with her anymore. Surrounded by beautiful women who fawned over his every move, escaping their adoring presence only to fire up his ship and ride the space lanes. Yes, that would be Heaven for her flyboy. And Yuko believed in Heaven, ever since she had witnessed Hell with her own eyes.

A small duck in a red shirt wandered into the garden to converse with one of the rodents. Yuko shook her head in disbelief. What a bizarre place this castle was. The famous King and his Queen were both giant mice. _Mice!_ And the few people she had seen since her arrival were similarly pathetic. Where was the great power that would save her people? How could their documents have been this mistaken? Had this trip effectively doomed those she left behind?

In spite of her immense disappointment upon meeting the little monarch, Yuko had pushed ahead with her mission and asked the King for aid. He had agreed to provide it, but where she had hoped for an army, he had offered a duck, a dog, and two teenage boys. She had simply stared at him, too overcome by shock and despair even to protest. What possible help could such pitiful reinforcements be? In Yuko's view, they couldn't even replace the loss of Sydney much less drive back the forces that threatened to devour everything she knew.

"Trust me," the King had answered, placing a gloved hand over her own. He had smiled at her kindly and gazed into her eyes without any trace of fear or discomfort.

_Trust me_.

* * *

"Trust me, Markul," Devalin said in his soft, soothing voice. "I know what I am doing." Yuko could feel her anxiety melting away at his words. The President's calm, gentle manner could ease fears so effortlessly. She truly believed that he had single-handedly kept their worlds from widespread panic during this terrible time.

But Markul, in addition to being the Commanding Officer of the army, had known Devalin when they were boys and was apparently immune to his gentle reassurance. He scowled, green eyes flashing. "You've got to be kidding! You want me to give up not only Yuko but my best Gummi pilot. For a suicide mission! We've already lost too many people trying to get help. What makes you think they'll succeed where so many have failed?"

Beside her, Sydney commented quietly, "Because I'll be flying this time." But he was smart enough not to say it loud enough for his superiors to hear. Yuko shook her head very slightly at his extreme confidence and kept her peace.

Devalin had come to visit the three of them on the front line, something he rarely did because of the ever-present danger. Even as she stood at ease, observing the two men argue over her next assignment, Yuko kept her "sword" at the ready at her side just in case any of the monsters should rise up through the floor. She could feel Sydney's eyes on her every so often, but she paid him no mind. She had heard what the others said about her, and she had done nothing to stop the whispers. After all, she herself didn't know exactly what she had become.

When the President did not answer his question immediately, Markul pressed forward. "Look, Dev, Yuko is more than just my best soldier. She's a symbol. You can't imagine the effect she has on troop morale. What am I going to tell them if you send her off to die like this?"

"Tell them …" Devalin replied, placing a hand on his old friend's shoulder, "tell them that they must hold the front line so that when their heroine returns with help, she will still have a home to defend. And she _will_ return." He turned his head and smiled at her. "That which makes her a symbol to your men also fuels my conviction that she will make it there alive. She will live, and she will bring us new hope."

"A conviction," Markul grumbled, but Yuko could see that her general was weakening. "A hunch, you mean. You're sending her away from where she can do the most good into an unknown danger on a hunch?"

"She can do the most good by bringing us reinforcements," Devalin corrected, "and no, it is not a hunch. It is much stronger than that. I _know_ she will be all right." He fixed his brown eyes on Markul; they radiated strength and absolute assurance. "Her absence will be hard on you, but it will not be long and it _will_ be worth it."

* * *

Outside in the garden, the living broomsticks had removed the last pieces of the destroyed ship. Two more ducks had joined the first, these in blue and green shirts, and they and the rodents talked and pointed about the garden. From their gestures they seemed to be discussing the rebuilding of the area, the reshaping of the topiaries, the reconstruction of the ruined paths.

Inside in her room, Yuko succumbed to the guilt and sorrow that engulfed her. She raised her eyes to the sky, knowing that somewhere out there was her world where the battle still raged without her. One hand lifted and pressed itself against the glass in a silent appeal.

"Devalin," she whispered, "forgive me. I made it here alive, as you said, but Markul was right. It was not worth it."

She turned away from the window and walked back into the welcoming darkness of the room.


	4. Four

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Good morning! (At least it's morning here in the US.) Time for Step 1: Boy meets girl. ... heh heh ...

**

* * *

**

**Four**

They had only just exited the Gummi hangar when Kairi stopped suddenly, causing Riku to do some improvisational foot shuffling in order to avoid slamming into her.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, gazing up at the grand castle. The white walls sparkled in the sunlight, and the tops of the towers seemed to touch the clouds in the sky. All around them, the instrument-playing topiaries smiled down, even though a few seemed to be missing vital body parts from the recent damage. Any wreckage that had occurred had already been cleared away, and the birds sang merrily from the trees and rooftops as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened in many a year. "Don't you think so too, Riku?" Kairi asked, turning to him.

Riku shrugged. "Sure," he answered in a tone that implied he was only humoring her, but secretly he was impressed. The darkness within him had prevented him from visiting the castle before although he had often wondered what kind of world his little monarch-friend ruled. This place was a dream land, plucked straight from a storybook.

Sora had not stopped to gaze about, and now he turned to them and called, "Hey, guys! This way." When they followed, he led them to a door in the side wall. His confident steps spoke clearly of previous visits. Riku noticed how Donald and Goofy trailed after his friend, as if _they_ were just visitors instead of residents of this magical world.

"Look at Sora," Riku teased. "Walking around as if he owns the place."

The other boy looked over his shoulder and grinned at him. "Well, I have been here before, you know." He opened the door and led them into a long, carpeted hall. Turning to Donald and Goofy, he asked, "Where do you think the King is? The audience chamber?"

"Probably," Donald responded. Goofy nodded his agreement.

"Okay, this way then." Sora continued down the hall. Kairi hurried up to walk beside him, but Riku kept his place in the back, content to watch the others in quiet.

About halfway down the hall, they stopped in front of an enormous pair of purple doors that stretched almost to the ceiling. When Kairi leaned back to try to see the top, Sora had to place a hand on her back to keep her from falling over. Then, as if revealing the secret to some amazing magic trick, he stepped forward and opened a much smaller door hidden within one of the large ones. Kairi stared at it for a minute and then burst into laughter. Sora joined her. Riku merely shook his head at them.

"C'mon," Sora said, taking Kairi's hand and leading her through the door. Riku let Donald and Goofy go through before following as well.

They emerged into a giant room, all white, light blue, and lilac except for a red and gold carpet that stretched down the center of the room. Far off at the other end sat an empty throne on a slightly-raised, blue platform. A large red and gold banner with the royal emblem hung from the ceiling above it, and against the far wall, large statues of an armored dog and a magic-wielding duck regally greeted all visitors. A little bit removed from all this pomp and circumstance, the King and Queen of Disney Castle stopped their conversation and turned their heads to see who had entered. Recognition lit up their friendly faces with bright smiles, and together they approached their guests.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi!" King Mickey greeted them. "It's wonderful to see you again! Thank you for coming like I asked."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Sora answered for the three of them. "We're always happy to help in any way we can."

The King nodded and turned to the Queen. "Minnie, would you please go ask Yuko if she feels well enough for visitors?"

"Of course," Queen Minnie answered. She excused herself from the group with a small curtsey and exited the room.

"Your Majesty," Sora said, reclaiming the King's attention, "your letter mentioned bad news. Can you tell us what it is now?"

The King shook his head as he replied, "I'm sorry, Sora, but I'd like you to hear it from Yuko herself. It's her story, and she should tell it. Please be patient for just a bit more."

Sora's shoulders sagged slightly, but he answered, "Okay."

Kairi, sensing Sora's disappointment, seized the conversation and hurled it in a different direction. "Your Majesty," she smiled, "your castle is so beautiful. I'd love to hear some of its history. When was it built?"

The three locals in the group eagerly took up this task, and the conversation grew steadily. Even Sora joined in, easily releasing his dark mood and returning to his normal happy self. Only Riku did not participate, preferring in his own way just to listen and wait for the return of the Queen.

The sudden sound of the small door flying open abruptly stopped all talking. The entire group turned as a unit to find out what had happened. Riku blinked in surprise when he saw a girl about his age or perhaps a bit older striding down the hall with strong, purposeful steps. The Queen scurried after her, hopping slightly as she tried to keep up and protesting in her gentle voice.

"Oh, Miss Yuko!" King Mickey cried. He took off at a run and joined his Queen in her futile attempt to get the young woman to stop. Yuko barely paid either mouse any attention, her eyes fixed solidly on the two boys.

As she approached, Riku noticed that she wore a kind of uniform. It was torn and stained, but she carried it with an unmistakable dignity and authority. The fabric of the garment was mostly black although thin bands of gold circled the wrists and golden stitchwork shone from the neck and lapels. Even her long hair, which she wore in a ponytail, was black and gold, the dark color brightened by one lighter lock that started at her right temple and disappeared around the back of her head.

She stormed straight up to them and then stood with folded arms, assessing them with an air of critical displeasure. When her eyes rested on him, Riku had to resist the urge to jump backwards. Her irises were completely black, as if the pupils had swallowed all the color within them. He instantly understood Goofy's apprehension regarding her.

"So you're Sora and Riku," she stated in a flat tone. "Which is which?"

"I'm Sora," the boy in question answered, trying to smile while under the scrutiny of those empty eyes. "And this is my friend, Riku."

"King Mickey said you've both had a lot of experience fighting Heartless."

"Yes, that's right," Sora said. Riku nodded in agreement.

Yuko exhaled sharply through her nose. "You don't look like much," she commented. "But," she continued before Sora could protest, "I'm not foolish enough to judge people based on looks."

"Excuse me?" Kairi ventured, taking a few steps closer to the other girl.

Yuko's head swiveled around to regard her. She seemed to have just become aware of her presence. "And who are you?"

"I'm Kairi," she replied as if that answered all. She succeeded in smiling, unfazed by the cold glare that pierced her. Her hand lifted to Yuko's forehead. "Did you know that you're bleeding?" Her fingers withdrew; dark red covered their tips.

"Oh my!" squeaked Queen Minnie as King Mickey said, "Miss Yuko, you must rest! You're still hurt."

"I'm fine," she snapped, but the action of turning her head to him caused her to stagger. Instinctively, Riku jumped forward and caught her before she could fall. "I don't need help," she growled at him, but she did not pull away, understanding that with her current muddled sense of balance, she would have instantly collapsed. Instead she contented herself with running him through with her sharp gaze.

Riku looked into Yuko's eyes and realized she was a kindred spirit. He could see it embedded in her expression and hear it in the undertones of her voice. The need to be strong no matter what, to do everything alone without help from anyone, to never admit weakness, fatigue, or injury. To carry all burdens and punishments upon her own shoulders. He had been just the same, was still the same in some ways.

He leaned in a little closer and said in a low voice, "If you don't sit down, you'll fall down, and then the King and Queen won't stop harassing you for weeks. Is that what you want?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but then she looked away in silent surrender. Riku turned his attention to the King. "Is it okay if she sits on the throne?"

"Of course."

Riku moved to take her there, but Yuko pushed herself out of his arms. Her look told him without words that she would not submit to that much assistance. Carefully, she walked to the royal chair and sat down, the two monarchs following close behind in worried attentiveness.

"See?" Goofy said to the three teenagers. "I told ya she was spooky."

"Aw, come on, ya big palooka," Donald responded. He whacked Goofy on the back of the leg with his staff before stalking off towards the throne. Goofy hopped along after him.

Kairi appeared at Riku's elbow. "Yikes," she commented, although her face showed more concern than fear. "She's intense. And her eyes are really weird."

"I dunno," Sora said vaguely from behind them. "They kinda remind me of Riku's."

"What?" Riku cried, turning to his friend in immense surprise. "How so?"

Sora's face continued to look distant and distracted as he answered, "Back when you were so obsessed with saving Kairi. They kinda looked like that. Focused. Determined. A little bit desperate even … oh!" His eyes snapped back to the present, and he realized what he had been saying. He ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. "… eh … heh heh … sorry."

Riku managed a smile in order to ease Sora's discomfort. "It's okay," he said, but his mind tumbled. _Did I really look like that?_

"Well anyway," Kairi said, effectively ending the boys' awkward moment, "let's go after her and hear her story." She took each of them by a hand and led them to where the others had gone.

* * *

A/N: I had a friend back in high school (the dark ages, I know) who had lovely chestnut hair ... and one platinum streak about a finger-width wide. She grew so amazingly tired of people asking her if she dyed it. It was just one of those genetic hiccups that sometimes happen. When I was deciding on how Yuko should look, I remembered her and decided to model Yuko's hair after hers. Yuko's isn't natural though ...


	5. Five

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Oh, heck, it's close enough to Thursday, and the cliffhanger at the end of the previous chapter wasn't really fair.

This chapter finally reveals the villains for this fic (and a lot of other stuff). I realize that a line from Zexion in COM basically states that this scenario could not happen, but I just don't care. Nyah. Oh, and I've read no other KH3 fics, so if this idea already exists, I apologize. I'm still gonna do it though.**

* * *

**

Five

Ignoring the mice who continued to flutter about her, Yuko watched the boys approach. She refused to allow herself to be disappointed. After all, she had expected something like this.

The silver-haired one at least seemed to have some sense, and she could see an encouraging amount of muscle in his bare arms, but he was still a boy. And the brown-haired one was worse. He was a Hero, complete with a Lady Love by his side. She had seen so many Heroes arise to fight this war. Had watched their bright smiles and shining eyes. Had listened to their optimistic speeches. Had stepped over their motionless bodies to progress down the battlefield.

Yuko sighed. The last thing she needed was another Hero. And she truly doubted their claim of having fought Heartless before. They had probably swiped at a few of those small, creeping kinds and afterwards considered themselves monster-slayers.

"Miss Yuko," the head mouse was saying to her, "if you're feeling well enough, could you repeat to my friends what you told me before? About the reason why you're here and why you need help."

Yuko swallowed the urge to snap at him. She wanted to yell that she was fine and to stop calling her "Miss", but she doubted it would do any good. Instead, she asked, "What have you told them already?"

"Nothing," he replied. "I wanted them to hear it all directly from you."

She sighed again. "Fine." She folded her arms and, since she couldn't stand looking at the Hero or his Girl and would rather die than talk to any more animals today, stared at the silver-haired boy. His green eyes stared right back.

"I come from a trio of interconnected worlds. Each world is separate, but they are very close together and have simple space lanes connecting them, so we're essentially one unit. Luca houses the government, most of the military, and all the other stuff important to running a nation. It also has the recreational facilities, so it has the greatest population. Midgar is our business district, where all the industries and manufacturers are. The SeeDs are also trained on Midgar. That's what I am. A SeeD." She gestured vaguely at her uniform. "Balamb is the third world, and it's mainly agricultural. Peaceful farmers and all that."

Feeling the first ripples of sorrow approach, she unlocked her gaze from the green eyes that had not wavered and continued, "About five months ago, a strange man arrived on Balamb. Some farmers took him in and tended to his wounds. He repaid their kindness by killing them." She heard the Lady Love gasp but did not bother to turn her way. "He then proceeded to slowly take over Balamb, building a fortress and creating an army of Heartless to do his bidding. Unfortunately, since Balamb is not a center of activity, it took six weeks before anyone on either of the other two worlds even knew of his presence, and by then, he had joined with his allies and the five of them had dug in to the point where they could not be easily evicted."

"Yuko," King Mickey interjected gently, "tell them the names of these men."

"Oh, yes," Yuko responded, shaking her head slightly at the omission. "The first man who came calls himself Even. He runs their base along with Ienzo, and they keep Elaeus with them at all times to guard it. The other two take turns at the front line, and their names are …"

"Braig and Dilan," Sora breathed, shock spreading over his face.

Yuko sat up a bit straighter, surprised that he had finished her sentence for her. "Yes, that's right. How do you … ?"

"Ansem's remaining apprentices," Sora interrupted, turning to the King. "They're still alive!"

King Mickey shook his head. "I don't think so, Sora. According to the reports written by Ansem the Wise, they suffered the same fate as Xehanort. I think the men who've shown up on Yuko's worlds are their Heartless."

"Interesting," Riku commented quietly. Yuko looked at him to see his eyes studying the floor.

"If that's so, then this should be easy," Donald announced. "We've already beaten all these guys before when we destroyed the Organization."

"Did we?" Sora asked. He crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels. "Which Nobodies go with those five?"

"Well, Dilan kinda sounds like Xaldin, doesn't it?" Goofy replied. "We beat him at the Beast's Castle. And Braig is … uh …"

"Xigbar," Sora finished. He nodded. "Yeah, okay, those two are both toast. But what about the other three?"

Riku finally lifted his head and joined the conversation. "I took care of Lexeaus when I was in Castle Oblivion. And I fought Zexion although he ran before I could kill him. Naminé told me later that Axel finished him off with the help of the replica of me that Vexen made." He looked over at Kairi who had a thoughtful expression on her face. Eventually, she nodded in confirmation. Riku finished, "And you fought Vexen, Sora, even though you don't remember it."

Sora blinked at him. "I did?"

"Yeah, you wore him down, and then Axel came up from behind and finished him." Riku shook his head. "Axel sure was a strange one." Kairi huffed slightly but did not comment.

During this exchange, Yuko leaned back in her seat and stared. They had already fought The Five? And not only together but also separately on a few of them? Were they mad or was she? How could it be possible that this quartet of ordinary-looking creatures had succeeded where armies of their finest had failed?

But then again, she could hold the front line all on her own if needed, thanks to the unexpected "gift" she had received. Could it be that … ?

Sora's voice brought her back to the discussion in front of her. "Yuko, do you know what their goal is? Are they going after Kingdom Hearts again?"

"I don't know what their ultimate objective is," she answered him. "All I know is that right now they're building a great army of Heartless. Even has invented a machine that turns people into Heartless, and with it, they are filling their ranks. We can't confirm it, but we think most of Balamb's population met this fate." Her chest ached and her eyes burned, but she continued on. "They're also looking for particularly strong warriors to turn into Heartless so that they can have leaders for their army. Many of my comrades ended this way."

Her listeners were staring at her with wide eyes. "A _machine_ that turns people into Heartless?" Sora asked.

"Yes," she said softly, turning her eyes away. "It covers you in darkness and slowly fills you with despair and fear. You feel utterly alone, not just that no one is with you, but that no one else even exists. You begin to lose your identity, your existence, until all that is left is the sorrow and emptiness, and you feel that you never should have existed in the first place."

She felt their eyes on her, and while most simply held their immense horror, one set gazed at her with terrible realization. "How," Riku asked in a low voice, "could you possibly know all that?"

Yuko hesitated. She had not even told the King this much. But it was not exactly a secret, more a private shame. She turned her head and met the eyes of the boy who had guessed her personal Hell. "Because they put me in it."

The others around her gasped and murmured in distress, but Riku continued to hold her gaze. She could see the sympathy and understanding in his eyes as she continued, "They captured my entire unit and took us to the machine. They put our captain in first; he came back a monster, and he threw the rest of us into the machine himself. I watched my teammates disappear one at a time, and then he came for me."

Yuko stood up carefully and walked a few steps away from them. She had decided to reveal everything, but she wanted some space in which to do it. "I fought the machine with everything I had. I clung to my identity even as I sank into the darkness. And then, just when I thought I was going to lose anyway, I found myself holding this."

She lifted her hand away from her body and flexed her fingers, summoning the "sword". It flashed into life, all black metal with stars studding its handle and a crescent moon resting at the end to serve as a blade.

"A Keyblade!" Sora cried as Goofy said "Gawrsh!" and Donald breathed "Waaaaahhhooow."

Yuko raised the blade and inspected it with a small smile. So, they knew what it was. Perhaps she had been wrong about them. "Is that what it's called?" she responded to Sora. "A good name for it." She lifted her eyes to him. "You've seen it before, then?"

"Well, not that one exactly," he began. Then, instead of continuing, he turned to his friend. "Riku?"

Riku nodded, understanding the unspoken question. Together, the two boys moved into attack stances, and two flashes of light accompanied the appearance of two more blades.

Yuko smiled, relief filling her for the first time since her arrival. She had been wrong, about everything. This trip would be worth it after all.

* * *

A/N: Can you say Square-squash, children? I knew you could. So a bunch of stuff revealed here, including large chunks of Yuko's background. And the Organization makes a reappearance ... kind of. The plot has begun, and we're off and running! 

I swear I must smell like a vegetable garden because I've had to beat off inspiration bunnies with a stick. I now know exactly how this is going to end, and just today I came up with a couple more wrinkles to make it even more interesting. I'm still ahead on chapters, so I'll see you all again on Saturday.


	6. Six

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Question: why did **no one** tell me I had spelled Gummi wrong? C'mon, people, you should be tearing me to shreds for something like that. :) Just kidding. Anyway, I went back to the old chapters and fixed it.

And now for Step 2: Boy kicks girl's ass. ... Wait a minute. That's not a proper step. ...

* * *

**Six**

Riku walked through the castle courtyard by himself. He, Sora, and Kairi had retreated from the audience chamber once Yuko and the King had begun to fight over whether or not she was well enough to return to Luca. They had decided to wait in the library, but then Sora and Kairi had started arguing over the prospect of Kairi going with them. So Riku had wandered into the hall to find Donald and Goofy bickering over ... well, he wasn't entirely sure. He had passed by them too quickly to determine the cause, trying to find some spot in the castle that was free from angry voices.

The garden thankfully offered him that peace. He had only been disturbed once, and that had been when he had had to freeze a foot in midair to stop himself from stepping on Chip and Dale as they sprinted by on some mission or other. The otherwise constant quiet left him time alone with his thoughts.

Another adventure had begun, and this time he got to start it as a part of Sora's team. He found that almost as exciting as the adventure itself. He had wasted too much time fighting against Sora or standing along the edges of his friend's battles, throwing bits of help whenever he could. To fight standing next to Sora, like they had done against Xemnas, was something Riku had not expected to do again, and this new opportunity filled him with something close to battle-lust. He wanted to get started, the sooner the better.

Of course at this point, that depended mostly on Yuko and whether the King would allow her to leave in her still-injured condition. Riku leaned his back against one of the walls to the Gummi hangar and thought about their new ally. He wondered how good she was with the Keyblade she had. Having one didn't necessary mean you knew how to use it. However, she did seem to have some fighting experience. She carried herself like a soldier, and, although she hadn't explained what a SeeD was, he assumed it was some sort of military group.

Surprisingly enough, Yuko's experience with the Keyblade or lack thereof was not what worried Riku the most about her. It was her attitude. She had been decidedly hostile towards both him and Sora. Granted, when they had shown her they weren't just useless nitwits with overinflated egos, she had softened -- a bit. But Riku still doubted she would take well to Sora's leadership. If not for the mention of a captain, he would have guessed she had never followed anyone at all. She seemed far too independent and self-isolated. He smiled to himself. Now who did _that_ remind him of?

As he stood and replayed memories in his head of some of his own actions, the door from the hallway flew open with a bang. Riku raised one eyebrow when Yuko stomped through into the courtyard. Did the girl ever open a door without trying to knock it off its hinges? He watched in silence as she approached, muttering things to herself like "insufferable" and "idiot mouse." Although he wanted to defend his good friend, Riku decided that it would not be the best of ideas at the present moment.

Since she had not yet noticed him, he cleared his throat slightly to announce his presence. She stopped trudging through the grass and lifted her head. When she spotted him against the wall, she stared at him angrily for a moment with her unnerving eyes before snarling, "I suppose you agree with him that I'm not fit to go, don't you?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea whether you are or you aren't," Riku replied levelly. Slowly, an idea came to him, and he realized he could answer both her question and one of his own at the same time. He stood up from the wall and reduced the distance between them. "I know how to find out though." He stopped about six feet in front of her and said, "Hit me."

She blinked, confused. "What?"

He flicked out his hand, and Way to the Dawn appeared in a flash of light. "I said, hit me."

At the sight of his Keyblade, understanding dawned in Yuko's face, and she produced her own blade with a sly smile. She immediately attacked Riku, as he had requested. He kept on the defensive, noting the strength and skill of her attacks and watching to see if her condition produced any dizziness. He concluded quickly that she was not that good although her balance and stamina seemed to be okay.

After a moment, she complained, "You're just defending. Attack already!"

He replied without thinking, "You don't want me to attack you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Riku wished he could take them back. That was completely the wrong thing to say to someone like her. He watched her eyes narrow into dark, dangerous slits. "_Excuse me?_" she hissed.

"Look, I --"

Before he could explain anything, Yuko jumped back several feet and flung her Keyblade at him. He quickly rolled out of the way, feeling the rush of air pass inches from his skin. Now _that_ move had been impressive, if a bit desperate.

He looked up at her from his crouched position on the ground. She stared back at him defiantly, daring him to back up his boast. Shrugging, he got to his feet.

"Okay, if you're sure you want me to."

The flash of her blade returning to her hand answered his question. He shrugged again and attacked her. Not knowing how much injury she could take, he made sure he used the flat of his blade instead of the edge whenever it came into contact with her body. After only a few minutes, he had smacked her like this over two dozen times. Finally, she stepped away from him, her body language admitting her defeat.

"Blast," she muttered, looking away, although a smile crept into her face. Surprisingly, she seemed to be in a better mood than when she had first entered the garden. She looked back at him and admitted, "You're good."

He smiled back. "Thanks." He released Way to the Dawn which promptly vanished again. "By the way," he asked, "what kind of weapon did you use before you had the Keyblade?"

"Throwing knives, mostly."

Well, that explained why that move was so much better than the others. And why she was not as skilled in the closer combat. "You have some natural talent," he told her, "but you definitely need more experience, and you'd probably benefit from some advice on technique."

She snorted good-naturedly. "And you'd be willing to provide that, o great and powerful Keyblade master?"

She had obviously meant the title as a joke, but it struck a chord in Riku. He answered almost automatically, "I'm not the master. Sora is."

Yuko cocked her head at him, not understanding. "What?"

Already regretting his words, he waved a hand, trying to brush it off. "Nevermind. It's nothing really."

"No, now you've got me interested," she said, turning to face him head-on. The hand that did not hold the key rested on her hip. "What makes bright and shiny Hero-boy a master?"

Riku did his best to swallow his grin at the remark that fit Sora far too well. Once he was satisfied he had succeeded, he answered, "Well, basically Sora is the master because the Keyblades say he is. That and the fact that he can use them all where normal wielders like you and me and the King have just the one we were given."

"The King can use a Keyblade?" Yuko blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, he has a Kingdom Key. Mine used to be called Soul Eater, but I changed its name to Way to the Dawn. The key Sora showed you before is called Ultima Weapon. He uses that one a lot since it's strong and nicely balanced, but he has a bunch and uses whichever best fits the situation. Some are lighter and faster, some heavier and stronger, you know. And then there's Oathkeeper which Kairi gave to him."

Riku suddenly realized how much he had been talking. He didn't think he had said this many words together at a stretch since the time he and Sora would sit on the beach together in the days before Kairi came. Since then, he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with long conversations, and they weren't usually necessary what with Sora around to talk a blue streak for the both of them. But with Yuko, the words came out easily, and while it seemed rather strange, it didn't feel wrong.

Coming out of his thoughts, he noticed her examining the blade she still held in her hand. The conversation they had been having returned to him. "Have you named yours yet?" he asked her.

She looked briefly at him before dropping her eyes back down. "Am I supposed to?"

"If you want."

She stood in silence for a few moments; then, quietly, she began to laugh. The usually joyful noise sounded hollow and empty as it came from her lips. Listening to it, Riku felt something inside him twist in pain.

Yuko lifted the blade high into the air and moved it back and forth so the sun glinted off the metal. "Devalin would probably call it Reborn Hope or Bringer of Salvation." She lowered it again and gazed at it sadly. "But I think I'll call it Never-ending Curse."

Riku had briefly wondered who Devalin was, but her final words hit him hard and claimed all his attention. She had switched moods again, this time to one dark and sorrowful. He watched her face carefully. Why would she consider the Keyblade a curse? Hadn't it saved her life?

"Why would you call it that?" he asked her.

"Because that's what it is," she replied simply. "I mean, I can't get rid of it, can I?" To emphasize the point, she hurled it with all her strength across the courtyard. It had barely finished bouncing before it disappeared and, as expected, returned to her hand. She turned away from it, a pained expression on her face. "And now that I have it, everyone expects so much from me. I don't _want_ to be a symbol or a Leader of Light or whatever. I just …" She sat down in the grass and laid the blade down next to her. Sighing, she drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. "I just want to be Yuko again. A normal SeeD with a normal life. Just like everyone else."

Riku just stood there, not certain what to say or do. To want a life free of adventures, to yearn for something ordinary, to be content to stay there on that boring little island, that was something he didn't understand. Finally, after a long silence, he walked over and sat next to her. He still had no idea what to say, but he thought perhaps he could offer some comfort with his presence. She seemed so vulnerable right now, so unlike the strong, fiery person who had thrown open that door.

Yuko rested her head on her knees and turned it so it faced him. Softly she asked, "I can't ever have that back, can I?"

"I … don't know."

"Well," she sighed, shifting her head so her chin rested on one knee, "at this point all I want to do is free my worlds from those monsters. Then … we'll just have to see."

* * *

A/N: My characters went and hijacked the dialogue again. They do that a lot. Bugs the heck out of me because then information I wanted to present gets left out. But on the other hand, they talk about what _they_ want to talk about which makes for a smoother flow. Which is why I always let them win. 

Hey, if you're one of the people who have fav'd this story but not reviewed or anything, drop me a line, 'k? I prefer to say hello and thank you in person. I'm not scary or anything, I swear. Well, except for the fact that I'm a mom in her thirties who plays games and writes fan fics ... maybe I am scary ... but go ahead and say hi anyway.


	7. Seven

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description: **A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: If the characters in the flashback seem a bit OOC, it's because they're preteens. I'll be fixing them later.

**

* * *

**

**Seven**

Outside in the courtyard, the sun shone merrily, the birds sang to each other, and various talking animals laughed and ran about in the warm morning. Inside, Yuko lay on her bed, her arms folded underneath her head, and gazed at the ceiling. Sunlight still hurt a bit; she had hoped with the passing of time the darkness that had seeped into her would fade, but now it appeared it would not. She sighed and shifted away from the window even more.

She still couldn't figure out why she had said those things to Riku. They were her personal fears, and she would deal with them herself. But for some reason when she had spoken to Riku, they had spilled from her in spite of her defenses. At least some good had come from her embarrassing openness. He had risen soon afterwards and taken her back in so that he could add his own arguments to her fight with the King. Thanks to Riku's interference, the King had cut his required rest time for her in half. Even that had not satisfied the teenager, but the mouse had refused to give in any more.

A smile crept into Yuko's lips. It felt nice to have an ally who was stronger than she was. For one thing, it meant that no longer would everything sit solely on her shoulders. She had someone she could trust to take some of the burden - two someones actually, although she wouldn't completely believe Riku's claims about Sora until she saw proof of them for herself. The younger boy was just too cheerful, and she had trouble accepting that a warrior could occupy the same mind as the bubbling ball of joy she had seen over the past three days.

_You were once cheerful, too, you know._

She frowned at herself and the unwanted thought. That had been a long time ago. Too much had changed. She willed the memory away, but voices flooded into her head, unbidden.

_"Aaaugh!" _

_"What is it now? Can't you _children_ see I'm trying to study?" _

_"But Yuko hit me with a water balloon!"_

_"Hey, think of it this way: now you won't have to take a bath for a week!"_

_"Shut up, you wench. I'll get you back for this!" _

_"Do you _mind_? You two may be content to stay on this hick world for the rest of your lives, but I'm going to Luca as soon as I can. And I need to study!" _

_"Aw, come on, Vinnie, put the stupid book down and have some fun before your head explodes." _

_"Don't call me that!" _

_"Zell's right, Vincent. And besides, you're not the only one who's planning on getting out of here." _

_"Yeah, Yukes is gonna be a SeeD and save us all from marauding space pirates - Ack! Cut it out already!" _

_"I told you not to call me 'Yukes'." _

_"Ugh, I've had enough. I'm going home." _

_"Okay, but someday you'll wonder where your childhood went and wish you could be back here with us." _

_"You tell him, Yuko. Why don't you ever hit him with balloons?" _

_"'Cause he punches harder than you do." _

Yuko shook her head to stop the memories from invading her. She didn't want to think about her old friends right now. Vincent at least was safe, working tirelessly as Devalin's aide. But Zell had chosen to remain on Balamb to help out at his family's farm, and he had not been among the survivors who trickled into Midgar after the darkness came. She had given up all hope of ever seeing him again, at least in a form she would recognize.

A knock on the door stopped these thoughts. "Come in," she called, thankful for the distraction.

The door opened, and Kairi stepped through, a smile on her pretty face. "Hi." Her eyes wandered about the shadowy room. "Wow, it's dark in here."

"I like it that way," Yuko replied. She pushed her torso off the bed and sat up to face the other girl. "Did you want something?"

"I just came to tell you that it's time to go." Kairi came a few steps further into the room. She leaned back on one foot, hooked a wrist with two fingers, and waited for Yuko to get to her feet. "The King sent me to get you," she continued after a moment. "He and the Queen are going to see us off."

"All right. I'm ready." Yuko started to walk to the door, but when she reached Kairi, the other girl grabbed one of her hands. With a bright smile, Kairi went first as if she were leading her best friend to a wonderful surprise. In spite of her natural reaction of disgust and displeasure, Yuko had considered allowing the touch, but a sharp pain in her hand shocked her into pulling it away.

Kairi looked back in concern at the older girl's small incoherent cry of pain. "Are you okay?"

"Your hand is hot," Yuko replied, staring first at her own hand and then at Kairi.

"It is?" Kairi examined the hand that had held Yuko's, poking it with a finger and then pressing it against her cheek. She lifted her blue eyes to Yuko's black ones, and suddenly a look of sad understanding flickered over her face. It passed quickly, and the smile reinstated itself. "I think I know what happened," she said. "It's okay, not a big deal. I'll just have to remember not to hug you." She laughed brightly and, turning around, walked out of the room without any further explanation.

Confused, Yuko followed her through the castle and out to the courtyard. As they approached the Gummi hangar, she saw Riku leaning against it, much as he had been they day they met. A gentle smile spread over his face when he saw them. Yuko fought her own smile that responded at the sight of his, but failed. For some reason, she could ignore the bright, wide grins of Sora and Kairi and easily block out their laughter, but she could not stop Riku's small, subtle expressions from affecting her mood. It was probably because Sora and Kairi had repeatedly tried to draw her into their friendly circle with their conversation and their concern, while Riku showed how much he understood her need for privacy by giving her the space she craved.

It wasn't as if she didn't like the other two - they were after all painfully likable - but she didn't want any more friends right now. She didn't have a very good history concerning those she cared about.

"Did everyone else go inside already?" Kairi asked, jolting Yuko from her thoughts.

"Yeah," Riku answered. He motioned for the girls to go in first, and then he followed them down the stairs to the ship. Kairi walked directly over to Sora - with a definite bounce in her step, Yuko noted - while Riku chose to stand with the King. Yuko thought again of how he had argued in her behalf and how the mouse had given such weight to the boy's comments. Privately, she wondered how the two had created such an obviously strong relationship.

"Where's Donald?" Riku asked Sora after looking around for the duck.

"He's inside already," his friend answered. His face broke out into a mischievous grin, and he stage-whispered, "I think he didn't wanna hafta face Daisy." The female duck in question stood next to the Queen, tapping a foot in frustration. Behind Sora, Goofy clapped both hands over his mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. Yuko started to roll her eyes at the lot of them, but then she realized that Riku had done it for her.

After a series of sappy goodbyes and a bucketload of good wishes, Sora, Goofy, Kairi, Riku, and Yuko all filed into the waiting Gummi Ship. Yuko sank into a chair in the back, thankful to be on their way at last. She shut her eyes and tried to ignore the scuffling going on up front - _"I was here first!" "But I haven't driven in ages!" "Too bad!"_

This ship was considerably larger than Sydney's girl. It also seemed to be better equipped, both offensively and defensively. That eased most of her worries about the return trip. Even if the Heartless dogged them all the way, she felt certain that this time they would not be fighting for their lives. The thought of her flyboy brought the sadness on her again. How would Markul take the news of his loss? How would she be able to bring herself to tell him?

"Hey, Yuko, you all right?" She opened her eyes to find Sora looking down on her in concern. He had clearly lost the fight with Donald and was now kneeling in the chair in front of her with his arms draped over the back.

"I'm fine," she told him, fixing her normal cold expression back over her face.

He tilted his head at her, unconvinced. "Okay, but if you ever wanna talk about anything, I'll be glad to listen."

She sighed, tiredly. "Sora, look, I appreciate your desire to be friends, but I'm not really in the market for any right now." She gazed up at his bright blue eyes and tried to force some of her reality into him. "The people I befriend tend to die, and I'd hate to see that happen to you."

To her surprise, instead of backing off, he smiled. "Yeah, but we're not gonna die. Donald, Goofy, and I have an annoying habit of sticking around. Riku and Kairi, too. We've already fought the darkness, twice. I'm not worried about a third. We'll free your worlds, you'll see."

Yuko looked away, flustered by his confidence and his optimism. "Well, maybe so," she responded, quietly. "If we can, I'll be happy to be your friend once it's over, but for right now, I'd like to just stay an ally."

Sora frowned, unhappy with this response. He opened his mouth to continue the argument, but Riku's voice stopped him. "Let it go, Sora." Sora turned his head to look at his friend who had taken a seat in the back row a few chairs down from Yuko. Riku glanced briefly at her before returning his eyes to Sora. He continued simply, "Wounds need time to heal."

Sora considered this for a moment; then he shrugged, turned around, and sat down. Riku flashed a small smile at Yuko before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. Yuko leaned back as well, grateful once again for the older boy's interference. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure whether what he had implied was true. A broken heart would heal with time, that she knew. But what of a heart that had been emptied? Could it recover and again be what it once was?

Could such a thing be considered a heart at all?

Yuko turned her face to the wall and waited for the ship to take her back home.


	8. Eight

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a gummy ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Eight**

"Confirmed, _Highwind_, you are cleared to land. Please proceed to landing dock 3."

"Dock 3. Got it," Sora replied. He had taken Donald's place as pilot as soon as it became clear that the poor dispatchers of this tri-world could not understand a single word that came from the duck's mouth. The offended mage had retreated to a corner and was still grumbling to himself. Everyone else had gathered around Sora in expectation.

"I'll alert the President of your arrival," the male voice on the other end continued. "Welcome to Midgar. And please tell Yuko that all of us here are very glad she's safe."

"Roger. _Highwind_ over and out."

Riku glanced over at Yuko to see if she had any reaction to the message, but as expected, she showed none. She had hardly said a word their entire trip. In fact, he could only think of two times that she had spoken since he told Sora to leave her alone: once to tell them the channel to broadcast to Luca and once to give the same information for Midgar once Luca had told them of the President's location. He knew something was bothering her, and he found himself very much wishing he knew what it was.

"Gawrsh," Goofy said as Sora guided the ship closer to the ground, "it's all lit up and sparkly!"

"It's so pretty!" Kairi added. She leaned forward over the edge of Sora's chair to get a better view.

Riku turned his eyes to the grand city of Midgar and saw thousands of glittering lights spread out before him. Their sheer number gave the night-covered planet a kind of artificial day. The sight was mesmerizing, and it held his gaze tightly - until he heard a small sound of pain from the girl beside him. He turned his eyes to her and blinked at the despair in her face.

"Yuko?" he questioned in a low voice so that the others would not hear.

She answered in the same tone, although he could not tell if she spoke to him or to herself. "There used to be so many more. And now they're gone." She turned away and retreated to the back of the ship where she would not have to see the view from the front window. Riku debated whether or not to follow her and finally decided, in spite of his own desires, to let her mourn alone.

Once the ship had settled into the dock and Sora had powered down the engine, he pushed the button to open the side door and rose from his seat with a smile. "We're here," he announced. "Lead the way, Yuko."

She replied with a simple nod and stepped out of the ship to the dock. Riku followed after her, much to the surprise of Donald who had started to exit himself, assuming the reticent boy would linger behind as he always did. Once everyone had left the ship, they gathered about in a loose circle. Riku looked to Yuko to take the initiative, but she stood still as if waiting.

"Yuko!" someone called from farther down the dock.

Riku turned toward the voice and saw a tall man in his forties coming towards them at a fast walk. From the man's confident air of command to his expensive-looking suit, the newcomer exuded importance and power. Two young men in SeeD uniforms followed him at a respectful distance but with a look that clearly said they would protect him from any threats.

At the sight of the man, a genuine smile lit up Yuko's face. "Mr. President," she said.

The man walked straight up to her and, unexpectedly, enveloped her in a hug. "I am so very glad you are all right," he said. His voice shook slightly, telling of the worry that he had suffered. "You were gone so long, I had begun to fear the worst."

Yuko had gone rigid at the awkward physical contact, but at his final words, she relaxed a bit. "I thought," she teased gently, "that you _knew_ I would come back. You had such faith."

He stepped back from her to smile down into her face, although he did not remove his hands from her shoulders. "Forgive me. In my fear, my faith wavered." His soft brown eyes traveled over the rest of the group, and his face brightened. "But you are back now, and you've brought help."

Yuko stepped back out of the President's hands and turned to them. "Yes. This is Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone, this gentleman is Devalin, President of Luca."

Riku straightened out of his usual half-slouch when the President's eyes rested on him briefly. They already showed a trace of disappointment, as Yuko's had done upon meeting him and Sora. Even though he knew their skills would convince the man otherwise, for some reason Riku didn't want to add bad posture to the reasons why Devalin would initially consider him not up to the task at hand.

The President bowed slightly to the group. "I am honored to meet you." He hesitated a moment as his eyes continued to scan over them. "Yuko, where is Sydney?" When she lowered her head in response, his eyes saddened. "I see." He sighed gently and ran a hand through his light brown hair. "Well," he continued in a stronger voice, "if we want time to mourn, we must make it for ourselves."

He turned to the visitors and addressed them again. "Thank you so much for offering us your assistance. I must admit, you are a bit younger than I had expected, but I've grown used to depending on the younger generation." He gave Yuko a fond smile before continuing, "I assume you came as an advance force to discuss strategy and your troops will be arriving shortly?"

"Actually, Devalin," Yuko replied before anyone else could speak, "there are no troops. _They_ are the reinforcements. Just the five of them. But," she continued quickly as a look of horror spread over Devalin's face, "they've dealt with Heartless in the past. And Sora and Riku can both use Keyblades like I can. I think they will be of great help."

When Devalin continued to blink at her in shock and dismay, Sora added, "Mr. President, sir, I know we don't look like much, but we've fought these enemies before. We all have a great deal of experience. Well, except Kairi … ow!"

He reached down and rubbed his leg, shooting a nasty look at Kairi who had turned her head innocently away as if to say she had no idea how her foot had slammed into him.

"I … see … " the President replied as he tried to recover his shaken confidence. "I suppose that any reinforcements are better than none, but I-"

"Sora!" Goofy interrupted with a cry. He pointed beyond the place where the SeeDs stood watch, towards the entrance to the dock. Two small pools of black crept forward at amazing speed.

Sora's face darkened. "Shadows," he said. His Keyblade flashed into his hand. "I'll take care of 'em."

As the SeeDs backed away in horror, Sora ran right up to the little Heartless creatures, waited for them to poke their heads out of the ground, and sliced through them both with ease. Riku watched with only mild interest - until he saw two more sneaking up on the President.

"Look out!" he called, pushing the older man out of the way and calling up his own blade. Two lazy flicks of his wrist dispatched the threat. He caught Sora's eye briefly as they both heard four popping sounds, followed by the clanks of armor. Riku spun and sliced the head off of one of the Soldier Heartless that had appeared from thin air, killing it before its feet even hit the ground. Sora took out the other three with a sliding move that gutted them in quick succession.

"Show off," Riku smirked at his best friend. Sora just grinned at him.

"Aw, phooey!" Donald griped from behind them. They turned to see his irritated face. "How come we didn't get to have any fun?"

Sora laughed at him. "You can have the next bunch, Donald." He shifted his attention to Yuko and Devalin. "Is everyone all right?"

She smiled at him, impressed. "Yes, we're fine." Beside her, the President just stared in wonderment.

"Good," Sora nodded. Riku watched as the other boy settled into the role of leader. He was in his element again, easily taking charge of the situation. "Okay then, why don't we - ?"

A scream from outside cut him off. A moment later, a female SeeD ran in, crying, "Mr. President! Heartless!"

"What kind?" Sora asked her, taking the interruption in stride.

The young woman blinked at him for a minute in astonishment before finally replying, "The small flying colored kind."

"Donald!" Sora and Riku called together.

"Oh boy!" the duck cried. He sped off, his feet flapping loudly against the ground.

"Um, should I go after him, ya think?" Goofy asked, wandering up to Sora.

"Sure," Sora replied. "He'll need help if there are any green ones. Here, take this just in case." He pulled an Ether out of his pocket and gave it to Goofy. Goofy smiled and, with a twirl of his shield, followed after Donald. They could already hear cries of "_I got it!_" from outside.

Sora stared vaguely off in the direction of the battle and commented, "These are pretty low-level Heartless."

"Yeah," Riku replied, "but it doesn't sound like these worlds had much defense against them at all. The apprentices probably aren't bothering to send in the bigger ones since the small ones can do the damage for them."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I just hope there are some decent ones closer to their base, or this won't be any fun." He grinned cockily. While Riku shook his head at him, he turned around and gazed back at the others. "Hey," he said in surprise, "look at Yuko smile. Now there's something I didn't think I'd see so soon." He leaned his head back and found Riku's eyes with his own. "Feels good to put a smile like that on someone's face, doesn't it?"

Riku looked back as Sora had done. Yuko was beaming at the pair of them; no trace of sorrow, anger, or worry remained on her face. Kairi had come up next to her, and now she leaned over and said something in her ear. Both girls laughed at the comment.

Riku's heart pushed against the inside of his chest. Again, he felt pain at the sight of someone so happy, but this was very different. This pain was wonderful. This was something he would gladly experience a thousand times over. This amazing joy at seeing a smile on that normally sad face and knowing that, in part at least, he had put it there.

"Yeah," he answered Sora softly. "It sure does."


	9. Nine

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: The descriptions in this chapter may seem out of whack, but I did them on purpose. Nobodies don't look exactly like their true selves after all (even Xehanort and Xemnas aren't identical). And as for Vincent, well, wait and see.

* * *

**Nine**

On the walk to the camp that Devalin and his staff had set up, several more Heartless attacked them, but the newcomers disposed of them easily. Sora and Riku, in fact, did not even bother to join in, allowing Donald and Goofy to fight instead. Kairi helped out as well, using the magic that Donald had taught her in the few days that they had waited at the castle. Based on an argument Yuko had overheard, the other girl had also once used a Keyblade, but apparently Riku, who had given it to her, could not call it again and she could not summon it herself.

While the speed at which her new allies killed the Heartless comforted Yuko, several other things worried her. Walking next to the President, she asked him, "Devalin, what are you doing here? Why aren't you on Luca? And why are there Heartless here in the camp?"

He sighed gently and answered her first question. "I'm here because I'm leading our forces now."

"Leading them?" she echoed in astonishment. A feeling of dread began to fill up her insides. "Where is General Markul?"

Devalin refused to look at her, focusing instead on the large courtyard they approached and the group of tents that had haphazardly been set up within it. "Markul was captured by the enemy."

Yuko's feet stopped. She stared at the older man, stunned. "No …" she whispered. If he had been captured, then that meant … She closed her eyes in pain both from her own grief for her superior and for the sympathy she felt for Devalin in his loss. After her return from the machine, several soldiers had added a vial of poison to their equipment to use in case of capture. Markul had been one of them, declaring he would rather die than allow the enemy to turn him against his own people.

The others had stopped moving when Yuko had, and they gazed at her with confusion on their faces. Devalin took her hand and gently pulled her along with him. "Come," he said softly. "I will tell you more in a moment."

He led her to a large tent in the center of the camp and pulled open the flap so she could enter. She stepped into a makeshift strategy room. The table in the center had several maps strewn across it and a handful of markers showing enemy and ally locations. She also recognized a stack of the reports she had written, sitting on one of several chairs scattered randomly about the area. She had submitted those reports soon after taking a prominent place on the front line; they described in detail the types of Heartless she had encountered and how best to engage them.

Devalin bade the others to come in and make themselves comfortable. As they did so, he pulled Yuko aside so they could continue to talk.

"What happened?" she demanded in as low of a voice as she could manage. "How was he captured?"

"Two days ago, he took a group of new recruits out to train," he answered. His words seemed forced, as if only half his mind concentrated on speaking them. "Dilan attacked from nowhere. He took almost all of them prisoner. Only a handful managed to escape and report back to me."

"I see." She looked away from him at a spot beyond the canvas of the tent. Her anger grew, and she directed it at the phantom image of Dilan in her head.

"Yuko," Devalin said softly, reclaiming her attention. She looked back to see his eyes shining in sorrow. "Most of the new recruits had no business being there. They were young, idealistic men and women who knew their homes were dying and wanted to protect them even though they had no talent in doing so. Yuko …" he hesitated, clearly in pain. "One of them was Vincent."

Yuko staggered. Vincent? No, he was supposed to be safe. Kept away from all the danger so he at least would survive. His face rose up in her memory. The boy who had sneered at her and Zell with such contempt for their antics. The young man who had smiled at her secretly from the background whenever she reported to Devalin. The chocolate eyes that shared her grief when they spoke of Zell. _"I'll protect you, Vincent. I promise." "I don't need you to protect me, Yuko." "Well, I'll do it anyway."_

They were all gone. Zell, Sydney, and now Vincent.

Two days? Yuko's head shot up at the realization. Two days ago, she had been … "That mouse. That stupid, _meddling_, _IDIOT_ mouse!" she exploded. She clenched her fists tightly as her anger boiled over into full-blown rage.

The others stared at her in shock. "Yuko," Devalin said, taking a step back, "calm down!"

"You don't understand!" she shouted. "He kept me there for three days! I could have been back in time! I could have saved him! It's all his fault that Markul and Vincent and all the others are dead. I could have _saved_ them!"

"Stop it," Devalin ordered her. "Stop it this instant." The cold power behind the command made Yuko pause long enough for him to continue, "It is in the past now. Anger will not serve any purpose except to make you fight poorly. And I do not think you could have saved them, Yuko." She fixed the fire of her eyes on him, but he ignored her. "You are our best defense against the creatures that invade us, but you are nowhere near good enough to fight The Five on your own. If you had been present at the training, which I doubt, do you really think you could have beaten Dilan and all his accompanying Heartless?"

She clamped her teeth together, knowing the answer but refusing to accept it. Instead, she stalked past him to the opening of the tent.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Out," she answered shortly. "You don't need me to decide strategy. Just tell me where to go and I'll go. Until then, I'm going _out!_"

She thundered out of the tent and into the courtyard, not stopping until she had reached the giant fountain in the center of the square. The water had not flowed in it for months, and it sat there, empty and dry. _Just like my eyes_. She pressed her fists against the sides of her head, trying not to scream from the mixture of grief, rage, and guilt.

"Yuko?"

She whirled around and met Riku's cool green eyes. They gazed at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Go away!" she shouted at him. Although part of her was glad he had followed her, the majority did not want him or anyone else to be near her anymore. _No one. Never again_. "Leave me alone!"

He watched her for a moment without words; then, he nodded once to say he understood, turned, and walked back to the others. She followed his retreat with her eyes, feeling both sad and relieved. _Go away from me. I only bring death to those who stay_.

The sound of laughter behind her pulled her from her thoughts. Startled, she spun around, looking for the source of the noise. On the other side of the fountain, a man stepped out from the shadows.

"Oh dear," he drawled. "Had a spat with your boyfriend, did you? Poor little thing." He grinned.

Yuko took a step backwards. The person in front of her was quite a bit taller than she was and painfully skinny. He wore a long brown coat over a red shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots, and he had pulled his dirty blond hair back into a ponytail. One yellow eye leered at her; the other remained forever closed behind a thick, jagged scar.

"Braig," she whispered.

"That's right," he replied, taking slow steps closer to her. "So good to see you remember me."

"What do you want?" she demanded with more courage than she felt. His answer froze her in fear.

"You." He grinned at the shock on her face. "That's right, sweetheart. I've come to invite you to join us. Even's decided you'd make a nice addition to our little family."

Yuko recovered quickly and scoffed at him. "I'll never join you. Get out of here."

He shook his head and clucked his tongue, feigning disappointment. "Now, now, don't be so quick to shut me down. Think about it a minute. You belong with us, kid. Far more than you do with them. Or haven't you told them how much darkness you have in your heart?"

"I said get out of here!" she yelled. She summoned her Keyblade and crouched down into an attack stance. Even if he had put his slimy finger directly on her greatest fear, she refused to give him the pleasure of seeing her suffer.

He just laughed at her. "Such spunk! No wonder you've been giving our lines so much trouble. But the thing is, I'm not about to take no for an answer. Y'see, although Even was totally pissed off when you broke his precious machine, he and Ienzo are both very interested in you and that toy of yours. So they asked me to come get you, and here I am." He stretched out his arms dramatically, exposing the two dangerous-looking guns at his sides. "With an order like that, I'm not gonna go back empty-handed. Now, are you coming or …" He narrowed his eyes and slid his lips up over his pointed teeth in an evil smile. "… are you going to be difficult?"

Yuko swallowed repeatedly, trying to return some moisture to her dry throat. "I'd rather die than go with you," she rasped.

This answer seemed to please him. He lowered his hands and gripped the handles of the guns. "Thought so." In one fluid movement, he drew his weapons and fired at her.

Yuko lifted her blade in a feeble attempt to defend herself and braced her body for the pain. But before they could hit, a figure dashed in front of her and swatted down the bullets with ease. She took several steps back in surprise.

"Sora?"

The boy did not turn to her but fixed his eyes on Braig instead. As Yuko stared, Riku ran up beside her with his blade also at the ready. The apprentice blinked at the three of them in confusion.

"Well, well," Sora said with a lilt of mischief in his voice, "if it isn't The Freeshooter."

Braig frowned. "Huh? Do I know you, kid?"

"Nah, but I know you. And you talk nearly as much as Xigbar did."

"What?" Braig appeared to think this over for a moment before shaking his head. "Whatever. Move outta the way. I don't have time for you and your rambling."

"Rambling?" Sora asked, a wicked grin on his face. He tightened his grip on his Keyblade and said pointedly, "As if."

Although Yuko didn't understand the significance of the simple words, Braig reacted as if Sora had struck him. He stepped back, speechless for once. Many seconds passed before he managed to find his voice. "Well, I see the girlie has found a couple of decent allies. Very interesting." His eyes found Yuko again, and they drilled into her. "Think about what I said, sweetheart. You know on which side you truly belong." A swirling vortex of darkness appeared behind him; he stepped backwards into it and vanished.

Sora rested the end of his Keyblade against the ground. "Man, I hate it when they do that." He turned around at last and smiled at Yuko. "Are you okay? We came out when we heard you shouting."

"Yeah," she managed. "I'm okay." But inside, her emotions whirled and tumbled. A heart full of darkness, surrounded by death. What if she was doing more harm than good by staying here? Sora and Riku could fight in her place now. She was free to … No. She was not free. The Keyblade would not let her do what she wanted.

Because all she wanted to do right now was join those she loved in death.

"Yuko?" Riku touched her shoulder gently. She met his eyes and watched his face form into a smile. "Let's go back in," he said. When she didn't move, he added, "Whatever he said, it isn't true."

"Yeah," Sora interjected. "Those guys are always trying to mess with your head. They did it to me constantly."

Yuko closed her eyes and sighed. "No," she admitted. "It _is_ true. And that's what makes it hurt so much."

Their eyes asked for more information, but she ignored them. Instead she turned and began walking back to Devalin's tent. She had to finish this fight. Then, hopefully, the Keyblade would set her free.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I know Braig/Xigbar is a "surfer" dude, but with those guns I just had to put him in cowboy boots and jeans. And come on, can you really see him in a Hawaiian shirt and Speedos with a board under his arm? Gah!


	10. Ten

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Good grief this chapter is _long_! But it's a really important one, so I didn't want to cut it down any.

Some sweet SoraxKairi here. Also, **_a summary of KH, COM, and KH2_**. I know I warned against spoilers at the beginning, but I'm doing it again. Seriously, read at your own risk.

* * *

**Ten**

"Okay, then it's decided," Sora announced. "Donald, Goofy, and Kairi will stay here to guard the camp and push the front line while Riku, Yuko, and I go around the line to attack Dilan and Braig and take out as many Heartless as we can in between."

He paused and ran his blue eyes over everyone present. When his gaze met Riku's, the older boy nodded in agreement.

Sora continued, "Once we've secured Midgar, the three of us will move on to Balamb, break into the fortress, and defeat the remaining apprentices. Once they're gone, we should be able to get rid of any leftover Heartless without trouble."

"Sounds good," Donald said.

"Yup," Goofy concurred.

Riku glanced out of the corner of his eye towards Yuko. _I've been doing that a lot lately. Well, she needs more support than the rest of us right now_. The girl sat in complete silence, staring hard at Sora and no one else. After she had stormed out, the President had told them that a close friend of hers had fallen while she was away. That had caused the anger against King Mickey, and that Riku understood. But she had completely closed herself down, speaking only when necessary, as if she were some kind of robot.

_Braig said something to her_. Riku remembered the evil sneer on the apprentice's face as he ran towards the fountain in Sora's wake. He had clearly been talking to Yuko, waving his arms about and grinning like an idiot. What had he said to upset her so much?

The meeting around him concluded, and Devalin stood, offering to show them to places where they could sleep. Riku rose along with the others and followed the President out. He noted with confusion that Yuko did not come along, but then he realized she must already have a room of her own somewhere else.

Devalin led them to an abandoned office building that the soldiers had turned into a barracks through the addition of several cots thrown into various rooms. He found three unoccupied rooms with two cots each and, after apologizing for the meager accommodations, left them to rest. Donald and Goofy immediately plopped down into their beds and fell asleep, but Sora and Kairi agreed that they were not tired yet. They decided to explore the city a bit and wished Riku a good night before leaving together.

Left alone with the snoring duck and dog next door, Riku lay back in a cot and tried to sleep. He soon realized the attempt was hopeless. His mind kept playing back images from the day, most of them memories of Yuko's face. The sadness in the Gummi ship. The terrible fury directed at the King. The cold emptiness following the encounter with Braig. And over and over again, the pure joy that had held her for one fleeting moment.

_She's so unstable. Her mood swings are insane. Why do I care so much about them? She smiles at me one minute and then screams at me the next. Why do I want to help her so much? Because she reminds me of me? Because I know what a horrible experience she's been through? Why do I even care? _

_Because her smile is so wonderful it hurts? _

Riku sat up in defeat. There was no way he was getting to sleep tonight. He swung his legs off the cot and stood up, deciding to take a walk in the hopes that it would clear his head.

Outside, he wandered through the empty streets of Midgar. The lights he had seen from above sparkled down on him, but they had a coldness to them that they hadn't had before. They were, after all, simply illuminating a glorified ghost town. Without the people to fill it with life, the city had no heart. _Like a giant Nobody_. He shook his head violently to force the thought away.

As he approached a corner, he heard the soft sound of voices. He stopped and listened until he recognized them. Sora and Kairi. Riku smiled and continued walking towards them. But as he rounded the corner, he stopped and slowly slid back into the shadows.

They had found a small playground and had climbed up to the top of a covered slide made in the shape of some kind of animal. They were sitting on its large plastic head, their backs to him, gazing out at the night sky and talking. Kairi had her head on Sora's shoulder, and he had slipped an arm around her to support her back.

"You believe in me, right?" he asked her, continuing their conversation.

"Of course I do," she replied. "It's just that you'll be gone awhile and … I'm gonna miss you while you're away." She lifted her head and gazed into his face.

_I should definitely not be here_, Riku thought as Sora turned his head to look at her. Their faces were very close together. _I should go and give them their privacy_. But his feet did not move. He rather wanted to see if Sora would finally go through with it.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Kairi," he said to her softly.

_Go on. Kiss her._

His face broke out into a wide grin. "But we'll be back before you know it. You'll see."

_Idiot._ Riku shook his head to himself, partly at Sora's continued obliviousness and partly at his own desire to see them finally together without question. _Wait. What?_ He raised a hand to his chest in surprise. Where was the pain he normally felt when they were together?

Kairi had continued to talk. "I know, but I wish I had something to help me get through the long wait." She lifted a hand and gently touched Sora's cheek. "You know, something to remember you by." Before Sora could react, she leaned up with her body and pulled down with her hand to bring his lips in contact with hers. His eyes blinked in surprise for a second but soon fluttered closed, and his other arm wove around her waist to hold her to him. They kissed sweetly for several seconds before pulling away to smile lovingly at each other, foreheads touching.

In the shadows, Riku smiled. _There. As it should be. Now I should leave._ This time, his feet obeyed, and he turned and walked back the way he had come.

He had no idea how long he walked; he only knew that his feet continued to move in a forward direction. Eventually, he realized that he had found some train tracks and that he had automatically begun to follow them. Lifting his head slightly, he noticed he was coming up on a small station. Once he reached it, he jumped up on the platform and continued to walk, seeing no reason to stop.

"Hey, are you stalking me or something?"

The unexpected voice made Riku jump. He turned towards it, blinking in surprise, and saw Yuko sitting on one of the benches.

"What? No, I --"

She smiled and laughed gently. "It's okay. I could see you weren't really looking for me." She lowered her eyes and leaned back against the wall. "You can go on back to your walk. I'm sorry I interrupted you."

This far from the city center, the number of lights had decreased, and shadows coated the corners and walls of the station. Even so, Riku could see the pain on Yuko's face as she hid within the darkness. He knew she probably wanted him just to move on, but he could not bring himself to do it. Not if there was even the slightest chance he could clear that expression from her face.

"I wasn't going anywhere important," he told her. "I can keep you company if you want."

She raised her eyes at that and stared at him. He held her gaze, trying to seem nonchalant about it even though inside he fervently hoped she would not turn him away. He understood the desire to be alone, to deal with things in your own way, but there came a point when a heart needed help, even if it didn't want it, and after what had happened today, he believed she had reached that point.

After a long, tense silence, she answered, "Okay."

Suppressing his sigh of relief, he walked over to the bench and sat down next to her. She refused to look at him, staring instead at the space between her feet. He leaned his head back against the wall and looked up at the stars. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, but I may not answer it."

"Fair enough. What did Braig say to you?"

She winced slightly and turned her head even further away. When she said nothing for several heartbeats, Riku thought she would not answer him, but finally she said, "He asked me to join them."

Riku sat up straight with a jolt. He had not expected that! "What? How could he be dumb enough to think you'd even consider it?" He nearly laughed at the idiocy of the idea. "Join them to fight against your home and your friends? No way!"

"I know," she replied. "I told him I'd rather die."

The way she said this caught Riku's attention. He thought a minute about how upset she had been, how upset she still was. Surely one empty offer of alliance would not shake her this badly. He asked her, "Was that all he said?"

Again, she did not answer for a long time. Then, instead of responding to his question, she picked up a photograph that had been lying next to her and handed it to him without explanation. Riku looked at it. Two boys and a girl smiled up at him. One of the boys, a blond with a fair amount of muscle, was waving at the camera and grinning madly. The other boy, taller and thinner than the first, smiled more subtly from under his black bangs. The girl stood between them, each arm linked with one of their elbows. Riku blinked at the picture of the girl in the dim light. Her face looked a bit like Yuko's, but she was blonde with sparkling blue eyes. A sister maybe?

Yuko began to talk. "When I went back to my room, I started looking through my old things. I wanted to find something to remind me of happier times, and I came across this picture." She pointed to the taller boy. "This is Vincent. He's the one who …"

"Devalin told us," Riku informed her quietly so that she would not have to explain.

She nodded and continued. "The other boy is my friend Zell. I haven't seen him in years. I don't know where he is or if he's even still alive." She fell silent again, seemingly finished.

"Who's the girl?" Riku finally asked.

Yuko smiled although there was no happiness in the gesture. "That's me."

Riku's head shot up, and he stared at Yuko who was watching him carefully. "You?"

"Yes. That's what I looked like before they put me in the machine." She turned her head away again, as if she could not bear to see herself as she once was. The movement brought the single lock of golden hair directly into Riku's line of sight. He felt the urge to reach out and run his fingers along it, but he kept his hands to himself. She would definitely not take it the way he intended.

"Yuko, I … I don't know what to say. 'I'm sorry' seems so meaningless."

She shrugged. "You don't have to say anything. As Dev would say, it's in the past. The girl in that picture is dead." She carefully took the photograph back and replaced it on the bench next to her. "I just wish," she sighed, "I understood who I am now and where I belong. I am _not_ going with Braig, but I don't belong here either. There's just so much darkness in my heart." She lifted a hand and covered her chest sadly. She continued softly, "I'm fighting it all the time. I'm not even sure why anymore. I thought at first I could beat it and get my old self back, but I know now that will never happen. A heart that has fallen into darkness can never resurface back to the light."

"Sure it can," he told her. And when she raised an eyebrow at him in skepticism, he added, "Mine did."

Yuko's hand fell away from her chest. She stared at him with a mixture of confusion, doubt, and hope. "What?"

And Riku told her. About how much he had wanted to get off his little island and how his heart, responding to that desire, opened the door to darkness. About meeting Maleficent and how she used his natural jealousy of Sora to convince him that the younger boy had forgotten him and Kairi and replaced them with Donald, Goofy, and the glory of the Keyblade. How she had found Kairi for him and how he had grieved when he discovered she had lost her heart. How Maleficent had fed on that grief to fill him with thoughts of power and darkness: _He_ should have been the Keybearer, not Sora. If he could take it back through the strength of his heart, he could use it to obtain Kingdom Hearts and save Kairi.

"And I did take it, briefly. But then Sora won it back from me, and I fled in despair. And that's when Ansem found me."

"Ansem? Ansem the Wise who the King told me about?"

"No. The Heartless of Xehanort who took Ansem's name after banishing him to darkness. He convinced me to open myself to darkness, and then when I did, he took over my body and threw me away."

Riku talked about walking through the world of darkness, nothing but a strong heart clinging to his identity. About hearing the King's voice call to him and guide him to the door where Sora waited. About closing the door with him and the King still inside, seeing Sora's face disappear.

He told her of waking up in Castle Oblivion and of climbing through the basements. Of fighting the Organization with the King's help. Of dealing with DiZ's tests and mind games. Of struggling with Xehanort who wanted his heart and body back for himself. Of his realization that he could embrace both the light and the darkness he possessed and walk the path between. Of meeting Naminé and deciding to refuse her offer to lock Xehanort away forever, wanting instead to triumph over him in his own way.

And he told her of Sora's destroyed memories, the handiwork of Naminé. How DiZ surmised that using Roxas would aid her as she rebuilt them. How Riku had sought Roxas, found him, fought him, and lost. And how he had realized that, in order to beat Roxas, he would have to call on the darkness again.

"When I first looked into a mirror and saw Ansem's orange eyes staring out at me from my own face, I nearly backed down and gave up. But then I thought of Sora -- how much he meant to me, how strong our friendship was even after all the stuff I did to him -- and I knew I could and would go through with it. So I bound my eyes and went after Roxas again. I won … barely."

"Riku …"

And Roxas did help Sora recover, thanks to the connections that existed among the hearts of Sora, Roxas, Kairi, and Naminé. But by then, Riku's appearance had completely changed to that of Xehanort, and he could not change back. In spite of this, he fought to help Sora, giving him clues when he could, trying -- and failing -- to keep Kairi from the Organization, helping DiZ with his plans to encode Kingdom Hearts so no one could abuse it again.

Through most of his explanation, Riku had spoken directly to Yuko, holding her eyes with his own. But when he came to the moment that he reunited with Sora, his shame forced him to look away. His friend's overwhelming forgiveness had hurt so much; he had not deserved it. For his betrayal, he truly believed he should suffer in darkness as punishment, but Sora and Kairi had insisted. They could see the light in his heart, even though he had lost sight of it. So when DiZ's machine exploded, covering him in light and purging him of darkness for good, it was as if the strength of their beliefs had returned him to his real form and given him a second chance.

"I can't rebuild DiZ's machine," Riku said, finding Yuko's eyes again, "and even if I could, I don't think blowing it up would be a good idea, but I believe there's a way you can change back too. And I know if we look hard enough, we'll find it."

A small smile pulled at her lips. At the moment, she seemed almost shy. "We?" she asked.

"Sure," he answered, smiling himself. "We're friends, right?"

She just blinked at him. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he wanted to let her know that, even if she didn't consider him a friend, he thought of her as one. While she struggled with his question, he watched her eyes and wondered what they would look like once they were blue again. They looked so pretty in the picture, happy and without care, like a cloudless sky. _They still are the color of the sky_, he realized. _Only now they're the sky at night_.

"Nevermind," he told her when he realized she was _still_ trying to admit to being his friend. "I don't need to hear you say it now. I'll wait."

The lines cleared from her face. She murmured, "Okay. Sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize," he said quickly. Only half-thinking, he covered one of her hands with his own in a gesture of comfort. "I don't mind."

"Okay," she repeated. The smile returned to her face, and she looked up at him with an expression that told him that, even if she was unable to say it in words, she did care for him as something more than just an ally.

A comfortable silence grew between them. He realized he still held her hand, but since she did not seem to mind, he did not withdraw it. In fact, he rather wanted to take the other one too. Maybe draw her into his arms and give her a reassuring hug -- if she would let him which he really doubted. But who knows? She was in a good mood again, so maybe she would. And then, when they pulled back, he could lean down and kiss her …

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait … _WHAT?_

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, noticing the shock on his face.

"Y-Yeah," he stammered. Then, recovering, he added, "I just realized how late it is." He pulled his hand away quickly.

She laughed lightly, not seeming to notice the retreat. "Yeah, neither of us are going to be of much use tomorrow. We should really go back and try to get some sleep." She stood up, determined to follow her own advice. "See you," she said, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile. "Oh, and Riku …" The smile softened to one more serious and heartfelt. "Thanks."

He nodded at her. He had managed to recover from his surprise enough to act normal. "You're welcome."

She left, disappearing into the darkness of the night. When she had gone, Riku leaned back against the wall and placed a hand over his chest. He could still feel her. Walking away towards the city, but also here with him. He sighed. He had wanted to have a connection to someone else, and he had received his wish. His heart had, without his knowledge, interwoven itself with the most hot-tempered, stubborn, volatile person he had ever met.

"Yuko," he whispered to the memory of her that remained, "I'll help you rescue your heart from the darkness. I promise." He laughed gently, tilting his head up to look at the stars. "I don't have a choice anymore. I'm falling in love with you."

* * *

A/N: Finally, the "L" word appears. Took me long enough. (grins) Since Riku is well-adjusted now, or at least as much as any of us are, it seemed fitting that he would realize it first. Yuko, on the other hand, is so messed up I can drag her along for _ages_. Uweeheehee (ooh, Kefka laugh!) 

Hope you enjoyed the fluffiness!


	11. Eleven

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: This one turned out just as long as Ten. Oh well. At any rate, here we have Step 3: Boy falls for girl ... literally.

For the "if you care" category, I based Braig's outfit on Rubedo/Jr. from Xenosaga II and Dilan's on Cao Cao from the Dynasty Warrior series.

* * *

**Eleven**

Yuko had decided she hated Soldiers. The drunken way they moved like they were doing some sick dance. Of course, she hated Shadows, too. Just when she would catch up to one, it would stick its head back under the ground where she couldn't reach it. And she _despised_ anything that flew around and spit magic at her. And you didn't want to get her started on those huge fat ones.

"Yuko! Pay attention!"

"Ahh!" She lifted her Keyblade and only barely managed to avoid being sliced by the Soldier as it flew past her. "Blast!"

Behind her, Sora sighed dramatically. "You can't just space out like that. You missed a perfect opportunity to practice the Cyclone move I'm trying to teach you."

"C'mon, Sora," Riku interjected from his spot leaning against a building. "Not everyone has reflexes as fast as yours. _I_ can't even do that move."

"That sounds like a challenge," Yuko stated, jumping away from two Shadows that had risen from beneath her.

Sora laughed. "Uh-oh. Now you've done it, Riku." His friend just shrugged.

"Aren't either of you going to help me at any point?" she demanded, swinging at a black head that had poked up.

"Nope. You need the practice. Now watch that Soldier and try again."

She growled in frustration. How had she gone from being the best soldier in the army to being a pathetic amateur that others laughed at? Okay, Sora had laughed at Riku, not her, and Riku wasn't laughing at all, but she just knew that inside they were both sniggering at her inexperience and awkwardness. A small voice rose from the back of her head saying that they were doing no such thing, but at the moment, she was far too annoyed to listen to it.

Sick of all of this, she crouched down and spun, taking out both of the Shadows at once. That just left the Soldier. It bobbed its head at her as she glared at it. Then, just as she had lifted her Keyblade to strike it, she noticed it preparing for another flying attack. She quickly sought the air currents it gathered around itself the way Sora had taught her. Once she had found them, she used them to launch herself at the small Heartless, spinning her blade in the process. It should have completely destroyed the obnoxious monster. Unfortunately, she missed. She landed on her backside several feet away, bruised and disheartened.

"All right!" Sora called. "That was much better. You almost got it."

"When this is all over," Yuko grumbled to herself, "I'm going to slice his tongue off and shove it down his throat. We'll see how cheerful he can be then." She gingerly rubbed a sore spot on her hip as the Soldier did a little mocking jig around her. Her anger grew as she watched it. Anger at the Soldier, at Sora for his good-natured encouragement, at Riku for just standing there, but mostly at herself for continuing to be useless and unable to help anyone.

"Ohhh, _forget it!_" she exploded. Without even standing up, she hurled her Keyblade at the Soldier. It pierced its chest and sent it flying backwards until it hit the wall. The little Heartless blinked at her in what seemed to be surprise before fading away into black mist and leaving her blade to vibrate like a plucked string, its end stuck several inches into the rock.

Sora scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Well, okay, that works too."

Riku laughed quietly under his breath for a moment. Then, he commented, "Y'know, Sora, you should stop trying to make her fight like you and help her find a style that fits her own talents. Her aim is fantastic."

Sora crossed his arms, leaned back a bit, and tapped one foot in thought. "Yeah, and while disarming yourself is a bad idea usually, it could work really well as a finishing move." He brightened as a new insight came to him. "Like at the end of a combo or something. That could be devastating!"

Yuko blinked at them. Talents? Devastating? Were they _praising_ her? She rose to her feet slowly.

"Too bad we didn't pick up any knives or shuriken or something before we left," Riku said, continuing the conversation with Sora. "She could use those as a long range and then slide in after knocking the enemies off-balance."

"Yeah, but even with Donald, Goofy, and Kairi, the front is going to need all the supplies it has, at least until we can relieve some of the pressure on them."

"The Midgar Garden has a ton of supplies," Yuko interrupted. She retrieved her Keyblade from the wall and then quickly crossed the distance to them. "We could go there and pick some up." When they looked at her in confusion, she added, "The Garden is where the SeeDs trained."

Sora nodded. "Okay, that sounds good. Where is it?"

"In the center of the city," she answered eagerly. "We'll have to stop skirting the edge and go directly in, but it should be worth it." It had been so long since she had held the small weapons she preferred. Devalin had insisted she use the larger blade for purposes of morale. If she could somehow incorporate her favored knives into her new fighting style …

"Well, the plan was to stay away from the center," Sora interrupted her thoughts, "but I guess since we don't know where their base is anyway, we might as well take the chance." He shrugged and looked to Riku for confirmation.

The older boy nodded. "Sure." He stood up straight and lifted his green eyes to the building next to him. "If you don't mind, Sora, I'd like to go up and take a look around. That balcony there should give me a good view of the area." He pointed to an overhanging about seven stories up.

"Okay, that's a good idea. You can check out the path to the center and see if there are any Heartless along it."

Riku nodded, clearly having thought of this as well, and approached the door. It was locked, but a simple kick knocked it open. He disappeared inside without looking back.

Left alone with Sora, Yuko at first felt uncomfortable, but she soon realized Riku's absence gave her the perfect opportunity to ask questions. Sora had such a talkative nature that he would provide answers without making her feel like she was prying into something private. Her late-night conversation with Riku had eased so many of her worries and given her hope, but it had also given her a strange desire to learn more about the quiet boy who had smiled at her with such genuine care.

"Hey, Sora, how did you and Riku meet anyway?"

"Huh?" He turned his head to look at her. "Why?"

She rearranged her face so that it looked only mildly interested instead of deeply curious. "No reason. You two just seem really close, that's all. I was wondering how long you've been friends."

Sora shifted his weight to stand more comfortably and leaned his head back to think. "We've been friends for ages," he told her. "Since we were little kids. I can't even remember anymore how we met exactly."

To Yuko's private delight, he launched into a series of stories of his shared childhood with Riku and the island where they had grown up together. When he reached the point of Kairi's arrival, she noticed his eyes light up a little more than usual. She could not resist a small smile at the sight. His love for Kairi was so obvious and so sweet. It almost made Yuko feel jealous.

Riku's personality had kept their talk serious and somber, but Sora touched on some of the same subjects with a light-hearted humor that made Yuko laugh. Her decision to maim him quickly melted away. As she listened to his voice and heard within it the kindness and generosity of his heart, she began to understand why Kairi loved him so and why Riku would sacrifice himself so readily in order to help him.

He had just begun to explain some of the tactics he had used to avoid having to help Riku with the raft when it all came to an abrupt end.

"Such a pretty picture. What a shame I have to destroy it."

Yuko and Sora both whipped around to face the direction of the voice. The area around them remained empty, but Yuko had recognized the speaker. How could she ever forget the sound of that voice? Like smooth dark chocolate laced with arsenic.

Sora apparently recognized it, too. "Show yourself, Dilan!" he cried.

"If you insist."

A dark portal appeared on the roof of the building across from them, and Dilan stepped through. The last time Yuko had seen him, he wore only a flowing white shirt and simple blue pants, but since then he had added a dark blue battle robe embroidered with red and gold and clasped at the waist with a white belt. The color of the robe brought out the deep blue in his dark hair, styled as usual in long dreadlocks.

Seeing him sent a spark of fury shuddering through Yuko. Because of him, Markul and Vincent …

He smirked down at them. "How foolish of Braig to be worried about such small children. Come, boy. Show me how you fight."

"Gladly!' Sora shouted. He called his Keyblade, expecting Dilan to descend and fight him, but popping noises sounded all around them instead. Yuko took several steps backwards as a group of Heartless she had never seen appeared: two metallic creatures with long lances and a host of small bats.

"Yuko," Sora ordered calmly, "you take the Hook Bats. If you can catch one by its hook, you can swing it around and knock out the others. I'll take the Lance Soldiers." He ran straight toward the yellow Heartless, not waiting for her to respond.

After several attempts to catch a hook and failing, Yuko decided simply to swipe at the silly bats instead. She found them to be easy to kill even with their tendency to fly up beyond her reach. Just as she cut the last one in half, she heard Sora cry out to her to watch out. She looked up in time to see him flying towards her, his hands wrapped around a lance that had seemingly gone haywire. She jumped out of the way as it crashed into the ground. Concerned for Sora, she started towards him, but he jumped up easily and sliced into the dazed Lance Soldier, which had apparently taken the wild ride with him. It evaporated into dark dust. Sora flashed her a confident grin.

Another pop took his attention away. A huge green ball with frightening spikes had appeared. "Morning Star," he muttered. "Stay back!"

Yuko gladly complied, watching as the younger boy slid right up to the enormous Heartless. He slammed his Keyblade into it several times, dodging its punches expertly as he did so. After a few seconds of this abuse, it pulled back and launched itself into the air. Instead of moving away, Sora positioned himself underneath it and lifted his blade. As it came down, Sora pushed back, causing the Morning Star to bounce and flail wildly. Then, Sora jumped up into the air with it and proceeded to dribble it against the ground until it cracked and splintered into pieces. He landed comfortably on his feet again.

"Wow," Yuko whispered, thoroughly impressed. She started to open her mouth to call out to him, but a hand clamped down over her lips and pulled her backwards. Another knocked the Keyblade from her slackened grip and wrenched her arms behind her back. She found herself pressed up against Dilan's chest; he smelled faintly of damp soil and wood smoke.

Sora had turned at her surprised squeak. He sighed at the apprentice, not overly concerned. "What is it with you, always trying to kidnap girls?" A smirk began to tug at his lips. "Somehow I think you'll have even less luck with her than you did with Belle."

Yuko struggled madly against him. He was so strong! If she could open her mouth just a bit more, she could bite his hand …

"Your skill is impressive, boy," Dilan began, "but I … ugh …" He stopped in his attempt to intimidate Sora as Yuko continued to flail against his body. "Stop fighting, girl," he hissed in her ear. "Or I'll slit your throat."

_Fine by me_, she wanted to say, but it came out as a muffled snarl. She had almost managed to wriggle one wrist out of his grip. If she could manage to get her Keyblade back, considering their close proximity, she could personally introduce him to a whole new lifestyle.

Sora was actually laughing at them now. "If you could see the look on your face …" he taunted Dilan.

"Silence!" the apprentice thundered. "I'll show you my true power, you -- !"

But they never got to hear Dilan's epithet of choice. Yuko heard the gentle thuds of feet hitting the ground behind her, and then Dilan's entire body spasmed. He dropped her immediately and staggered to the side. Whirling around to face him, she instead met the frantically worried eyes of Riku.

He lowered his blade and reached out to take her by the upper arm. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

A portal sprang into life a few feet away, but Sora ran in front of it before Dilan could escape. He lifted his blade in challenge. "Oh, no. You picked this fight. Now fight it! You've done nothing but talk big and send flunkeys at us. Show me this 'true power' of yours."

Dilan glared at Sora, pure hatred shining in his deep blue eyes. He drew himself up to his full impressive height. "As you wish," he rumbled. A great wind swept up around them, creating two tall tornados from which enormous, fiery-red lances appeared. Dilan reached out casually and grasped one in each hand. He sneered.

Sora blinked. "Well, that's different." He ducked the blade of the lance that had spun towards his head.

"Sora!" Yuko cried.

"Yuko, stay back!" Riku ordered her. He charged Dilan, palm outstretched. Sora had begun a slashing combination, and, as he finished, Riku unleashed several blasts of light from his hand that nearly made Yuko fall backwards in surprise. Where had that come from? What other tricks did these boys have that she didn't know about yet?

Dilan had staggered from the double attack, but he recovered quickly and blocked Sora's next set of blows with his lances. Then, he dropped low and spun with one blade on either side. Sora managed to jump over the rotating threat, but one of the lances caught Riku. He fell back with a hiss of pain, clutching a spot on his leg. Dilan rose and clamped the two weapons together, creating a long cannon that spit a ball of flame at Riku. The boy succeeded in rolling away in spite of his injury, and Sora forced the lances apart, somersaulting over them and wedging his blade between them as he passed.

Snarling angrily, Dilan turned on Sora and began to slash him with both blades, whirling them in fast circles. Unable to block, Sora thrashed beneath the onslaught, crying out in pain each time a lance struck him. With a guttural yell, Riku launched himself at Dilan, stopping the blades with his own just long enough for Sora to roll out of the way. After dealing and receiving several hits, Riku hurried out of the way as well, falling to one knee and breathing heavily. The injuries on both boys filled Yuko with fear, and she dug quickly through her pockets for something to help. Finding two Hi-Potions, she threw one on each. Sora caught her eye just long enough to thank her with a nod.

Dilan stood waiting with a sneer on his face, one lance pointed at each boy. He had taken a significant amount of damage, but he still stood with confidence. The look on his face suggested that he believed he had seen the worst the boys could do and did not consider their attacks to be worth much. Yuko swallowed hard, wondering if he was right.

Then, Sora looked across at his friend and smiled. "Riku?"

Riku grinned, understanding. "Yeah."

Together, they flew at the apprentice from both sides. They slashed with such amazing skill and speed that Dilan had no opportunity even to defend himself much less fight back. After a few seconds of this, they suddenly came together, back to back, and began to spin, their two blades creating a whirlwind of destruction that pushed Dilan backwards until he hit a building. His screams raked at Yuko's ears as they continued to assault him. She just stared in amazement.

Then, just as she thought she would faint from the dizziness brought on by watching them, they pulled apart. Sora knocked Dilan up into the air, and they both jumped up as well, one on either side. They pointed their Keyblades at each other, with Dilan in between, and together unleashed a bright light that pierced him from both sides. He howled in pain as the light enveloped him.

As she watched, Sora's comments about her own fighting style returned to her. _While disarming yourself is a bad idea usually, it could work really well as a finishing move_. She lifted up her own Keyblade and stared at it as the idea formed in her mind. Slowly, a grin spread over her entire face.

"I think I'll give you a new name," she whispered to the starry weapon. "Moonlight Arrow."

She drew her arm back and, with a great cry of triumph, flung it at Dilan. It lodged itself in the center of his chest.

Sora and Riku landed gently on the ground just as Dilan, shaking and screaming like the end of the world, began to disappear. Within moments, Yuko's blade clattered to the ground with finality.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then, Sora said, "One down, four to go."

One down. Yuko could barely believe her ears. _One down_.

Out of nowhere, Riku rounded on Sora, his normally cool eyes blazing. "What were you thinking?" he yelled. "Why didn't you help Yuko?"

Sora blinked at him and stepped backwards in shock. "What? What do you -- ? She was fine! She had it under control. She very nearly shook him off herself."

"She could have been killed!"

"Well, what did you want me to do? Hack at him through her? What are you so steamed about anyway?"

Yuko gaped in astonishment. Riku was _mad_. At _Sora_. For not protecting _her_.

"You could have done something other than just stand there laughing!"

"I'm telling you he could barely stand straight from trying to hold her still!"

"Stop it," Yuko said quietly. "Both of you." The serene tone of her voice grabbed their attention, and they turned to look at her. She wandered up to them, smiling. "It's done," she told them. "I'm fine. We're all fine. Let's just …"

She stopped, ready to burst from the joy she felt. One of the monsters was gone, and for the first time she believed they could get rid of the rest. True, she had done little to help, but she knew she could get better. She had found her talent and named her Keyblade. And she was no longer alone. Sora and Riku cared about her, supported her, and wanted to help her, and she cared about them, too, cared about them deeply. She had thought she would never feel that way again.

Shyly, she took each boy by the hand. "Let's just be friends."

* * *

A/N: I'm not a big fan of the limit attacks, but I do like the Sora/Riku one. ("Riku!" "Time's up!" fist bump) And now everyone (except Warp Ligia Obscura) is happy. Dilan, you may have noticed, continues my trend of Heartless being slightly different from their Nobodies in appearance and weapons. It seems logical that way to me -- and allows for a bit more creativity. 

I await the reviews declaring how wonderful it is now that he's gone. (Poor, poor guy ...)


	12. Twelve

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Moonshine's Guide. Thank you dear for helping me figure Even out. And now, I strongly suggest everyone else back away and give the fangirl some room. :)

* * *

**Twelve**

Nothing had ever frightened Riku more than seeing Dilan sneak up behind Yuko and grab her. Not the Realm of Darkness. Not staring down Maleficent's dragon in Castle Oblivion. Not feeling Lexaeus' dark power engulf him. Nothing.

He had so enjoyed spying on her and Sora as they talked below him. He couldn't hear what they said from his place on the seventh story balcony, but he could see them laugh and smile. He had crossed his arms on the parapet and rested his head on them, watching with a wonderful feeling of contentment in his chest.

A few years ago, if it had been Sora and Kairi below him, he would have burned in jealousy. But Kairi, he had realized, had been just a possession to him, a prize to be won. Whenever Sora made her smile or laugh, he had viewed it as a point to the younger boy in their competition, and his horrible need to be in first place had caused him to resent it.

But with Yuko, it didn't matter who put the smile on her face. It still felt wonderful. _That must be the difference between obsession and love. Her happiness comes first_. Riku had laughed quietly at himself. _I must look like some heart-sick fool. Sora would tease me to death if he knew_.

When Dilan and his Heartless had appeared, Riku had watched attentively, Way to the Dawn ready, but he had not felt the need to join in. Sora had the stronger enemies completely under control, and Yuko had done well with the smaller ones. But then Dilan had appeared behind Yuko and grabbed her, and Riku had felt his insides freeze in horror.

_What if I lose her? I've only just found her. She doesn't know how I feel yet. She's not _ready_ to know. I can't lose her. I _can't!

And he had climbed onto the parapet and jumped.

* * *

"Riku, are you _still_ mad at me?" 

"No," he lied. Next to him, Yuko laughed gently. They were threading their way through the streets of Midgar on their way to the center and the Garden. Occasionally Heartless would pop up and impede their progress, but Riku would dispose of them quickly, using them as an excuse to work out his negative feelings. He still had not been able to rid himself of the horrible image of Dilan with his hand around Yuko's mouth and the overwhelming fear of a life without her in it.

Sora pouted slightly. "Okay, well, tell me when you're done being not mad at me. I'd like to know when it's safe for me to come within fifteen feet of you again."

That sent Yuko into a stronger round of laughter, and Sora couldn't help a snigger behind the wounded face he had put on. Riku ground his teeth in annoyance. "How much farther is this place?" he asked gruffly.

"Not far," Yuko answered. "We just have to pass through that park up ahead, and then we should be able to see it."

"Good."

"Hey, something's been bothering me."

Riku rolled his eyes. "And what would that be, Sora?"

"How did Dilan know where we were?"

Riku stopped walking. Stunned, he stared at Sora who had also stopped. "I …" He had been too distracted before, buzzing from adrenaline and anger and fear, but now that Sora had posed the question, he realized how important it was. Although you could travel just about anywhere using the Realm of Darkness, the portals took you to places, not people. Heartless, Nobody, or whatever, you still had to find people the old-fashioned way.

"We were traveling along the outskirts so they wouldn't notice us," Sora continued. "So they'd keep pushing the front until we could come up behind or at least flank them. How did they find us so quickly?"

"Easy," a gentle voice answered from the shadows of a streetcorner. "The girl led us right to you."

The three friends turned to the sound of the voice to see an older man calmly standing on the sidewalk. He had his hands deep within the pockets of his lab coat, and he watched them carefully with clear blue eyes as if examining an interesting specimen.

Yuko drew back, and Riku could hear the fear in her voice. "Even…" He instinctively stepped closer to her.

Sora looked the newcomer up and down. "So you're the one who started all this." He blinked as the meaning of the man's response sank in. He demanded, "Whaddya mean Yuko led you to us?"

Even smiled faintly, a sight that sent chills up Riku's spine. He responded in his quiet voice, "She reeks of darkness. Even I can sense it, and Ienzo with his sensitivity can pinpoint her location without leaving the lab." He rested eyes of ice upon the girl standing half-behind Riku. "So you see, child, no matter how you try, you cannot hide from us."

Riku heard Yuko's small intake of breath and stepped even closer to her, trying to prove the apprentice wrong by shielding her with his body. He called to him, "You have a lot of guts coming here after what we did to Dilan."

Even lifted his shoulders in a lazy shrug. "I am not here to fight you, boy."

"Then why are you here?" Sora asked angrily. "What is it that you want?"

"What do I want?" Even echoed. "Knowledge." His smile deepened at Sora's confused expression. "Were you expecting me to say 'Kingdom Hearts' in some overly dramatic fashion?" He laughed lightly and raised a hand to flip soft brown hair out of his eyes. "That was Xehanort's passion. He wanted the power that Kingdom Hearts represented. The power to control light and darkness itself. A power comparable to one over life and death." Even sighed and shook his head gently. He seemed bored by the suggestion. "How uninteresting."

"I, on the other hand," he continued, lifting his arm and rotating his wrist gently, "would rather discover everything there is to know about light and darkness. Then, rather than control it, I could predict it. Trying to control nature is such a brutish practice, a desire born from fear, suitable for animals like Xehanort. Ienzo and I are dedicated to the preservation of the innate flow nature; we simply wish to study and understand it. With the total acquisition of knowledge, we can transcend fear and eliminate all undesirable impulses." He lowered his arm and found Yuko with his eyes again. "I could learn so much from you, child, if you would only come back with me."

"Never!" Yuko cried with surprising strength. "I've seen what you do in your 'pursuit of knowledge'. You have no regard for the people you murder, for the lives you destroy."

Even sighed sadly at her. "Ah, morality. Such a tedious thing. It so gets in the way of the experimentation process." He turned his attention to Sora and Riku. "What say you, Keyblade wielders? I must admit I found your encounter with Dilan fascinating. I would love to study both of your hearts in more depth."

Sora and Riku immediately summoned their blades in response, not even needing to look at each other for confirmation. The echo of Even's words rang in Riku's head. He had watched the fight with Dilan -- just _watched_ it? He had not come to his ally's aid but instead let him die? What kind of person had so little regard for the lives of others?

The apprentice shook his head at their reaction and _tsk_ed. "Oh dear. I suppose I'll have to continue gathering data the hard way then." Riku braced himself, expecting the man to attack, but instead his lips curled up evilly and he spoke again, his voice a throaty purr, "I must admit, I expected this outcome, and so I came prepared." Raising a hand high in the air, he called out in a ringing tone, "Come, Chaos!"

In response, the streets vibrated with the sound of a beast roaring. Riku fought the urge to clamp his hands over his ears at the terrible sound. Up and down the street, glass windowpanes shattered and doors rattled on their hinges. A shadow passed overhead, and he looked up to try to catch a glimpse of this new threat.

Flying in the sky was a man. Or at least it was man-shaped, with arms, legs, and head in proper location and proportion. But it flew on giant bat-like wings with black veins and tattered red skin, and great red tendrils branched from the top of its head like a crown. Most of its body was encased in black leather with the occasional shine of metallic armor, and what skin he could see was a sickly light-blue. As it passed, circling them like a vulture, it shifted its head to peer at them, and Riku was greeted with the sight of one shining yellow eye that blazed out like a small sun.

"What is it?" Sora cried. "A Heartless?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I don't think so."

It stopped circling and hovered in the sky above them. After a moment, it threw back its head and roared again, a sound full of pain, anger, and fathomless despair. Suddenly it swooped, its claws extended, and the three friends scattered. It screamed down the road, swiping at them as it passed, and then rose back into the air, turning gracefully to face them again.

"Got any ideas on how to fight it?" Sora asked, picking himself up off the ground.

"You mean other than what we usually do?" Riku asked back. He shook dust and glass shards from his hair. "No, I don't. Do you think you could block that diving move?"

"Maybe. You gonna back me up if I fail?"

"Naturally."

"Wait!" Yuko cried. She rose from her knees and stared at the monster. It gazed back at her, wings flapping gently, claws flexing menacingly. "No," she whispered to herself. "It can't be …"

"Yuko," Riku called, concerned by her hypnotized state. "What's wrong?"

She did not answer but continued to watch the creature. Then, suddenly, she bolted toward it at top speed. Both boys cried out for her to stop, but she ignored them. It watched her hungrily as if fully expecting her to give herself to it. As she approached, it rose a little higher and positioned its body for another descent.

Riku watched in utter horror as Yuko ran to the spot directly underneath the beast and lifted her head to it. Just as it began the dive that would shred her to pieces, she threw up her arms and screamed out in a voice of hope, suffering, and desperation:

"_Vincent!_"

* * *

A/N: Sorry. I had to. Please don't kill me. The resolution to the cliffhanger will be up tomorrow. 


	13. Thirteen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Here's the rest of the scene as promised. A big thank you to all reviewers!

* * *

**Thirteen**

"I'll protect you, Vincent. I promise."

He turned his dark head and gazed at her from over his shoulder. "I don't need you to protect me, Yuko."

She smiled gently at him. "Well, I'll do it anyway." She inclined her head to the book under his arm. "So you can take that thing back to the library where you found it. I swear, only you would try to learn how to use a gun from a book."

His thin lips curled into a small smile. "It's not the most practical of methods, I grant you, but it's a start."

"And it'll be the end, too," she insisted. "You aren't a fighter, Vincent. You're a thinker. Dev needs you to stay here and help him."

He sighed and looked away from her. Quietly, he asked, "Do you remember how you once told me I'd look back on my childhood and wish I could be back with you and Zell?"

"Yeah."

"I've been thinking about those days a lot lately. You were right, you know. I do want them back. Not so that I can suffer through you and Zell being immature, but just so I can see him again. So I can see you again," he turned and fixed his soft brown eyes on her, "the way you used to be. So much has changed, Yuko, and we can't get it back."

She stepped up to him and took his hands in her own. He jumped a bit at her touch, but he did not pull away. "I know," she told him. "But that doesn't mean that you have to change, too. Stay here, Vincent. Stay as you are. You're the only thing I have left of my past now, and I want to protect it. I want to protect you."

He smiled gently. "To save me from marauding space pirates?"

"That's right," she laughed. "From space pirates and monsters of darkness and anything and everything that would try to take our innocence away from us."

* * *

"_Vincent!_"

The beast shuddered to a stop. It blinked at her, and in that moment, she saw it. The light of recognition. The soul of the boy she knew.

"Y … Y-Yu … ko?" It had a voice like stones scratching on glass.

"Vincent!"

It threw back its head and screamed, but this time the voice was human. The sound of a young man in intense pain. Horrified, Yuko watched the wings begin to shrink and the crown begin to flake away. His body glowed with red light, and it shook and convulsed as various pieces of him changed. When it had finally ended, he fell to the ground: a young man in black with a tattered red cape, a red headband holding back disheveled black hair, and a great golden gauntlet covering his left arm up to the elbow.

Yuko ran to him, fell to the ground beside him, and scooped his head up in her arms. She could hardly breathe from the pressure in her chest. When he opened his eyes, she cried out softly in sorrow and disbelief. Instead of the warm brown eyes she knew, he gazed at her with orbs of pure blood.

"Yu … ko …" he whispered, struggling for each syllable. "Run. … Hur … ry …"

"Vincent! What happened? What have they done to you?"

"Even, he …" Vincent's breath hitched and caught painfully. His whole body trembled with the effort of speech. "Heart … less .. inside me. … Run. … I can't …"

She gazed down into his face and saw flickers of blue run across his skin. His eyes began to threaten with a glow of gold. "Fight it!" she cried. "Don't let them take control! Fight them!"

"I … can't …"

"You can!" she insisted. He had rolled his head away in pain, but she grasped his chin and forced him to look at her. "I'm not going to run, you understand? And I'm not going to fight you. So you fight them and you get control because if that thing comes back, I'm not going to defend myself."

"Yu ... ko …"

Internally, she quaked with fear and worry, but she pulled everything out of her voice except pure strength. It was the only thing she could do for him right now. Holding his stained eyes firmly with her own, she continued, "You always told me you didn't want me to protect you. You always said you could take care of yourself. Well, do it! Save yourself, Vincent. Fight!"

He stared at her, mouth agape as his lungs sucked in great shuddering breaths. Then, suddenly, he threw his head back in a silent scream. His body bucked upwards in her arms, and she wrapped them tightly around his torso in an attempt to give him whatever support she could. He twitched and shook, muscles spasming uncontrollably, and gradually but steadily, his body grew warmer.

Yuko drew back when the heat became unbearable, and her eyes fell upon his chest. The dark fabric of his shirt rippled and rose. With a cry of surprise, she tumbled backwards from him, realizing all at once that she was watching a head emerge. Mere seconds later, the large Heartless had clawed its way completely out of Vincent's body; it lifted dangerous glowing eyes and stared at her.

"Neoshadow!" she heard Sora cry from behind her. In her shock and despair of finding Vincent in this state, she had completely forgotten about the other two boys. Now Sora slid in front of her before it could pounce and began to battle it with a calm air of experience. A second Neoshadow began to pull itself from Vincent's body, and Riku approached it, waiting for it to move far enough away from the suffering boy to engage. Yuko carefully crawled along the ground, avoiding the monsters, until she found Vincent's right hand. She took it gently in hers and watched.

As a third head appeared, Yuko wondered how many of the dark creatures Even had stuffed into her dear friend. Each emerging body sent a fresh stabbing pain into her, but with it came shimmers of hope. Vincent was forcing them from him. He was fighting and winning! As long as the effort of expelling the Heartless did not kill him, he would eventually be free. Yuko clung to this thought as she gently stroked the hand she held with her thumb and whispered words of encouragement she knew he could not hear.

The Neoshadows jumped and clawed with great agility, but Sora and Riku never panicked, even at the times when they were outnumbered. They methodically fought the large creatures, Sora every so often showing off another quick reflex move, until, several minutes later, they had disposed of the last one. Since the beginning of the ordeal, a full half-dozen had risen from Vincent and fallen at the end of a Keyblade.

Yuko settled beside Vincent, now lying quietly on the pavement, and took him up in her arms again. His breath was shallow but steady. When she touched his pale face gently, his eyes fluttered open and gazed blurrily at her.

"Vincent," she whispered, "you did it."

Slowly, his lips lifted into a small smile. "Yuko …" he managed before his eyes rolled up and he fainted.

Somewhere behind her, the quiet voice of Even drifted through the silence. "Interesting. Very interesting indeed."

Sora turned on him, anger blazing in his young face. "You sick monster! How could you do something like that to him?" Even answered him with only a small laugh and the appearance of a portal which swept him away. "Come back here!"

Riku knelt down beside Yuko and ran an evaluating gaze over Vincent. He laid a hand on her shoulder and said, "Looks like he'll be okay."

"I know," she answered in a strained whisper. "I just …" Her fingers brushed gently through Vincent's dark hair. It was longer than it used to be and so unkempt. Memories rose in her mind of how she would sneak up behind him while he was reading and ruffle that hair just to hear him holler at her. He had been so uptight and yet so sweet. Gruff and yet gentle. Aloof and yet caring. Her obnoxious, wonderful friend.

He was cursed now. Just like she was. But he was _alive_.

"I just …" she tried again, but the words would not form under the emotional onslaught that gripped her. The fear that she had hidden gushed forth and took control of her limbs, causing them to shake, while the relief bubbled up into her chest and pushed against it with painful pressure. She gasped for air as if drowning. Her mind spun with dizzying speed. The world before her had shifted out of focus.

"Yuko?" Riku's concerned voice spoke into her ear, but she could not acknowledge him. Desperately, she clutched Vincent's limp body to her chest and sobbed. From joyous anxiety. From distraught ecstasy. From everything that had happened to her, to him, and to the world they had once shared. Her entire body shook from the force of her emotions. Riku carefully wrapped strong arms around the both of them as she cried and cried.

But, as they had been ever since the machine had tried to take her heart, her eyes remained completely dry.


	14. Fourteen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: And now for Step ... aw, heck, I've lost count.

* * *

**Fourteen**

Once Vincent had awakened, Sora and Riku had helped him walk to the Midgar Garden, and now he rested in what had once been Yuko's bed. She had immediately dragged a chair over to sit beside him, her face stating without words that nothing would tear her from him. Vincent had quickly drifted off to sleep, and Sora and Riku had left Yuko alone with him.

At Sora's insistence, the two boys wandered through the Garden together, exploring its many rooms and corridors. They ran into several groups of mid-level Heartless, but the enemies were nothing that seasoned Keyblade wielders could not handle. For the rest of the day, they investigated the dormitories, several classrooms, what had probably been the Headmaster's quarters, the library, the cafeteria, and the gymnasium. Sora challenged Riku to a game of basketball at the last location, but Riku declined. It just didn't feel right to him.

Walking around the Garden had given a name to the nagging feeling of inconsistency that had bothered him for a while now. Half of Midgar had turned into a war zone, but the only thing that showed it was the lack of people. Nothing in the Garden was missing, broken, or even scratched. They had seen an outfit laid out on a bed, waiting for its owner to return. Several classrooms had had notes still written on the blackboards. In the library, they had found a book lying open with a pen and a half-used index card sitting atop it. A sink in the kitchen of the cafeteria had been filled with water, and dishes sat in piles on either side of it - one dirty, one clean. _As if everyone is standing outside for some kind of drill and they'll be back any second_.

But then, the Heartless weren't interested in raiding towns for treasure or creating destruction in order to kill soldiers. All they wanted was hearts, and they didn't need to loot or destroy in order to get them. And if all Even and Ienzo wanted was knowledge, then they too would care more about gaining people to use as experiments than about obtaining wealth or power.

"Whoa! Hold on!"

Riku suddenly felt himself being tugged back behind the corner he had been about to turn. He glanced at Sora in confused annoyance to find the younger boy grinning madly. "Yuko's sitting on that bench over there," he whispered excitedly.

Riku leaned his head to the side just enough to take a peek. "So she is," he replied to Sora, still annoyed. "What of it?"

"She looks unhappy," his friend stated, and though Riku would have deemed it impossible, Sora's grin grew even bigger. "Maybe you should go cheer her up."

Riku's eyes widened in surprise, causing Sora to press a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "What? How did you - ?"

"Aw, c'mon, Riku," Sora teased. "I may be kind of slow about that sort of thing, but I'm not _completely_ stupid."

A sly smile spread over Riku's face as a certain memory came to him. "Kairi's been tutoring you, has she?" The smile turned to a satisfied smirk when Sora instantly blushed bright red.

He waved embarrassed hands in front of him. "Hey, that's not the point! We're not talking about me and Kairi. We're talking about you and Yuko."

Riku sighed. His eyes flickered briefly to the sad figure on the bench. "Sora, there is no 'me and Yuko'."

"Well, whose fault is that?" Sora was grinning again, and before Riku could stop him, he had grabbed the older boy by the arms and practically thrown him around the corner. "Don't worry," he added before slipping away. "I won't watch … much."

"Sora, I'm gonna kill you," Riku hissed, but the other boy had gone. He briefly considered dashing back around the corner again, but then Yuko lifted her head and spotted him. She smiled. It was small, gentle, and sad, but it made his breath catch and his throat constrict. All thoughts of running away and of pummeling Sora into next week quickly left his mind.

"Hi," she said in a low voice as he approached. "Wandering around again? Don't you ever get any sleep?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he returned. She made room for him on the bench, and he sat down next to her. "You should get some rest."

She shook her head, and her hair fanned out a bit behind her from the motion. Riku blinked as he realized she had unbound her hair. He had never seen it out of that tight, constricting ponytail before.

"I can't right now," she replied to his comment. "I'm just so … I just can't."

"Just so what?" he prompted gently. "What's wrong?"

After a long pause, she murmured, "Lots of things."

"Pick one. I'll listen."

She smiled a little at that. After another pause, she began, "Even said he and Ienzo can find me easily because of the darkness in my heart. I was wondering if I should leave because of that. If I'm around, you and Sora will never be able to sneak up on anyone."

"Don't worry about that," Riku reassured her immediately. "I think Sora wanted a sneak attack at first so that they wouldn't know about him and me until we had engaged them at least once. Well, that's already happened, and they know, so it doesn't matter anymore."

"Okay," she said, but she didn't sound very relieved.

"What else has you so upset?" he prodded.

She inhaled very slowly, closing her eyes as she did so. Then, she opened them again and said, "Vincent."

_Vincent_. A sharp pain struck Riku in the chest. He knew he shouldn't be jealous - he didn't _want_ to be jealous - but the way she had run to the tall, tortured boy, disregarding her own life in the process, and the way she had clutched at him and cried over him had tied Riku's stomach into terrible knots. He forced himself to say, "What about Vincent?"

"He wants to leave. We talked for awhile when he woke up. He said he doesn't understand everything that's going on inside him right now. The Heartless left bits of darkness within him, and he doesn't know if he can control it all. He doesn't want me to be around him just in case he can't. He wants to go off on his own until he figures it all out."

_Good_. But Riku's conscience chastised him severely for that selfish thought. She was clearly suffering at the prospect of being separated from her close friend so soon. He found himself saying, "I bet Sora would talk to him for you and try to convince him to stay. And who knows? Maybe after he rests a bit more, he'll change his mind on his own."

She nodded, but her sadness intensified. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly. "What's wrong with me?" she whispered hoarsely. "Why can't I stop shaking? I'm just so … _scared_."

"Scared?" he echoed. His hands ached to touch her and comfort her, but he kept them where they were. Everything she had said, everything she had done was pointing in one direction. _Don't say it out loud!_ his mind screamed, but once the thought had risen, he could not stop it. "Is it because … you love him?"

She laughed gently, and her next words plunged him into despair. "Of course I love him." But then she continued, "Just as I love Sydney and Zell, and now Sora and Kairi … and you. But if you're suggesting that I'm in love with him, no. He's madly in love with a girl he met in Luca practically the day he moved there, and as for me … well … I know how futile it would be for me to fall in love with anyone right now."

The relief had washed over him in great waves, but her finishing statement calmed them substantially. "You say that like you can control it," he commented. When she merely shrugged, he added, "'The heart is too complex to predict or control.' Who said that to me? Probably DiZ. Sounds like something he would say."

His eyes traveled over her as she sat there huddled within her own arms, biting her lip. "It'll be all right, Yuko," he told her. "I promise you it will." He felt that familiar desire in his hands and arms and this time did not suppress it. Vincent was no longer a preferred rival after all. Carefully, Riku reached out a hand and placed it on Yuko's shoulder to comfort her.

To his surprise, she shivered slightly at his touch and screwed her eyes up. "Riku," she whispered hurriedly, "forgive me."

"For wh- ?" The force of her body colliding into his abruptly ended his question and nearly knocked him over as well. She buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around his upper chest. Her shoulders began to shake as if she had started crying again, and her arms gripped him as if he were the only thing keeping her alive. For several seconds, he could not catch his breath from sheer amazement, but then, he gently laid his arms around her. One hand lifted to stroke her hair soothingly, and he rested a cheek against the top of her head.

He lost track of time, sitting there and holding her. Eventually, the tremors in her body stopped, but she did not pull back. Content to keep her there as long as she wanted, he listened to her breathing as it changed from jerky and shallow to deep and smooth once again. When she finally did move away, he had to stop the small noise of disappointment that rose in his throat.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, her eyes downcast and embarrassed.

"Don't be."

"It's just that I know you're like me and you wouldn't normally allow something like that, and I wouldn't normally need something like that, but for some reason I really did right then, so I'm really sorry and I really appreciate you letting me and -"

"Yuko," he said, cutting off the mad flow of words. He stretched out a hand and lifted up her chin so she would look at him. "It's okay. I don't mind."

Slowly, a smile spread over her face. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now how about we both go get some rest?" He got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. She took it with a small nod.

As they started walking back to the dormitory together, Riku noticed a figure hiding behind the door of a nearby classroom. It grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. Riku shook his head slightly and continued on with Yuko, privately resolving to give Sora a good thumping in the morning.


	15. Fifteen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Fifteen**

_Thunk. … Thunk. … Thunk thunk … _

The little knives vibrated slightly in the wood for several seconds after making impact. Viewed all together, they had formed a very neat triangle. A final knife embedded itself directly in the center of the shape as a finishing touch. Standing several feet away from the target, Yuko examined her work for a moment and then walked forward to pull them all out again.

She had woken up rather early and had headed straight for the weapons lockers. Once she had kicked open the cabinet of throwing weapons, she had set up the targets and started training. She had quickly grown tired of hitting the bullseye and was now creating geometrical figures and simple pictures with the knives instead. A spectator would have told her she certainly didn't need this much practice, but Yuko also wanted to use the time to think and to figure out how to fix the mess she had made of her life.

She was royally pissed at herself for breaking down in front of Riku the previous night. Not because it was a sign of weakness, since she knew neither boy would have considered it that. And also not because she would never hear the end of it. If it had been Sora she had cried to, he would have checked on her several times a day to make sure she was all right, but Riku understood her enough not to speak of it unless she brought it up first. So that was not what worried her.

The problem was how good it had felt when Riku had held her. At first she hadn't noticed; she had been too upset and had been crying too hard. But when the fit had passed, she had slowly grown aware of how comfortable and soothing it felt to be there in his arms. To feel his hand gently smoothing her hair and his breath passing over the top of her head. To lie there with the bridge of her nose resting perfectly against the curve of his neck, as if one had been made for the other, and listening to his strong heartbeat and his steady breathing. She had felt so warm and completely safe from all of her nightmares.

_Thunk_. It hadn't been anything special. It was just biology. _Thunk_. Body heat and respiration. Anyone could have made her feel like that. _Thunk thunk_. It had nothing to do with Riku himself.

She had been trying to convince herself of that all morning. The fact that she had dreamed about him had not helped. It had started as a fairly normal dream. She and Riku and Sora and Kairi were all at a blitzball game in Luca. She happily munched on some snacks while Kairi gazed at the game with wide-eyed wonder, Sora jumped up and down and cheered like a lunatic, and Riku watched with interest but without any comments. But then, the sphere had malfunctioned in some way so that whenever the players scored a goal, water would shoot out and drench them. After several goals and subsequent showers, she opened her mouth to suggest they move to a different spot, but before she could speak, the dream changed in that illogical way that dreams often do. They were in her old bedroom on Balamb where she had grown up, Sora and Kairi were gone, and they were still soaked. And then …

Stop it, stop it, stop it! _Thunkthunkthunk_. She didn't need her hormones making her life any more complicated right now. She was a soldier - _thunk_ - in the middle of a war - _thunk_ - not some stupid - _thunk_ - pathetic - _thunk_ - nymphomaniac - _thunkthunk_ - !

Fists on her hips, she glared at the pentagon on the target board. These feelings were nothing but a crush. They would fade with time. Just a strong affection for a good-looking boy who was kind and cared about her and who didn't sometimes drive her nuts with cheerfulness the way Sora did. If she ignored it, the desire would go away and leave her with just the friendship again. And then everyone would be happy.

Wouldn't they? She shook her head firmly and started yanking the knives back out for another round. Of course they would. The only way that arrangement would upset anyone was if Riku … She froze as the thought hit her. What were Riku's feelings regarding her? Was it even possible that he returned her affection?

_Now I sound like a giggly schoolgirl. Um, Sora, does Riku, like, um, you know, liiike me?_ She snorted in disgust and resumed the retrieval of the knives. What a ridiculous question. Of course he didn't. She was a dark, depressed mess with an unstable temper and serious trust issues. Some days it boggled her mind how anyone could even stand to be around her.

And besides - _thunk_ - last night he thought she was in love with Vincent. _Thunk_. And the way he said it, it was as if he wanted to help her realize it - _thunk_ - because if it were the case, then the realization would take away some of her sorrow. _Thunk thunk_. What kind of person would willingly point the one he loved to a love with someone else just for the sake of her happiness? No one is that self sacrificing.

_Riku is_.

"Aargh!" _Thunk thunk thunkthunkthunkthunk_ …

"Why am I suddenly reminded of water balloons?"

Yuko turned her head to see Vincent leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes, still a disturbing burgundy, examined the target on the far wall. He smiled faintly. "That's a rather impressive spiral you made."

"Thank you." She turned to face him completely, all thoughts and worries of Riku fading away. Awkwardly, she fiddled with the knives she still held in her hands. She hadn't expected to see him ever again. Not after the things he had said yesterday. When she had told Riku about their conversation, she had watered it down substantially, keeping the most painful parts to herself. "Are you here to say goodbye?"

He lowered his chin and fixed his eyes on the floor. The fingers on the gauntlet twitched slightly as if in nervousness. "No," he finally replied. "Your friend found me this morning before I could leave. He convinced me to stay. At least for a little while."

"Sora did?" she asked. Relieved happiness began to bubble up within her. She half-wanted to go find the boy and hug him silly.

"No," Vincent answered to her surprise. "The other one."

"Riku?" She blinked. "_Riku_ convinced you?"

A small smile appeared on his face. Yuko noted absently that it was so cold, as if all the warmth within him had been wicked away. "He told me I didn't have to worry about losing control around you. He said if I did, he'd knock me senseless until I recovered."

Yuko could not resist a short laugh. "That sounds like something he'd say."

Vincent nodded briefly and then lifted his eyes again, this time seeking out hers. The sight of them sent a little shiver through her, but she ignored it. _This must be what everyone else went through when they looked at me; I can bear this for him_.

"He also said," Vincent continued, "that if I left, it would break your heart. But that you would never tell me so." He paused and gazed at her with sadness and a hint of confusion. "You never told me that when Devalin told you of my capture, you blamed yourself for it."

"There never seemed to be a good time to bring it up."

He smiled wryly. "I can think of a dozen times when you should have brought it up."

She pivoted on her heel and began throwing again. "Yeah, well, we both said some things we shouldn't have and didn't say some things we should have."

"I agree," he said in a low voice that stilled her hands, "and I apologize." Before she could reply, he continued, "Yesterday when you weren't insisting I go back to the President, you only talked about my presence in terms of what I could add to your fighting power. But if that's all you want me for, then I see no reason to remain here." He paused, and in the silence, she turned her head to him and saw the question in his face before he spoke it. "Yuko, do you want me to stay?"

She took a slow, calming breath before answering, "Of course I do. You're my old, dear friend, and I thought I had lost you. I'm sorry I didn't say it yesterday. I was … trying to be strong, for the both of us. But yes, I want you to stay with me."

"Even though I've … changed?"

She smiled kindly at him. "Of course. You're still Vincent."

He lifted the gauntlet and inspected it. In a soft voice, he said, "I'm not so sure."

"Why not?" she asked with a laugh that jolted him out of his self-pity. "When I was the one with those fears, you were always quick to reassure me that I was still me. Now that the question pertains to you, why should the answer be any different?"

"Hmph." He recrossed his arms and leaned his head back against the doorframe. "That's twice in the past two days you've used my own words against me. In the future, I'll have to be more careful in what I say."

Yuko placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head at him, pretending to be insulted. She had seen the smirk he had attempted to hide. "Used them against you?" she teased. "More like used them to save you. Some thanks I get for it, too." She sighed dramatically.

Vincent's shoulders shook slightly in quiet laughter. After a moment, he commented, "Guess we haven't changed after all. You still annoy me to no end."

"And you're still as uptight as ever," she added happily. She walked over to him and took him by the elbow. "Now, if you're going to come with us, you're going to need some practice. Let's go see if we can find some Heartless to drill some holes in. I want to see how a book-learned gunman fights."

He smiled down at her and nodded. "All right, but I'll need some decent ammo."

She pulled at him until he turned in the proper direction. "That cabinet over there. Just knock it open." After he had moved away to do so, she walked back to the targets to retrieve the rest of her knives. The sound of the cabinet smashing made her grin. She took a moment to glance back at Vincent, carefully sifting through the bullets that he had found. Looking at him, she could not suppress the feeling of joy that sparkled in her, as if her heart danced within her chest.

_Thank you, Riku. Thank you so very, very much._


	16. Sixteen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Sixteen**

"So whaddidya say to her anyway?"

"Shut up, Sora."

"I saw her throw herself at you. You probably said something sweet and sappy, right? Man, you should have kissed her right then."

"I'm _not having_ this conversation."

Sora swung his legs back and forth and banged his heels against the wall beside the tennis courts. He grinned at Riku who was leaning against the bricks next to him, arms and brows folded angrily. "C'mon, we're best friends! You're supposed to let me in on things like this."

"Okay, fine," Riku said, turning his head to smirk at Sora. "I'll tell you everything that Yuko and I said last night if you tell me everything you said and did with Kairi the night before we left."

As expected, the younger boy flushed to the roots of his spiky hair. He quickly turned his attention to the courts where Yuko and Vincent were fighting Heartless. "Hey, Vincent's not a bad shot, is he?" He coughed a few times in embarrassment.

Riku smiled. "Thought that would shut you up," he said quietly to himself. He also gave his attention to the two on the courts. It's what they were supposed to be doing after all.

Yuko and Vincent had discovered that they worked extremely well together. Their combined long-range attacks would knock their enemies silly, and then while Vincent continued to harass them from afar, Yuko would close in with the Keyblade to finish them off. They had eliminated several dozen Heartless this way, but the Large Body that had appeared seemed to be giving them some trouble.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I _hate_ these things?" Yuko growled. She slipped the knives she held into the belt she had found and called up her Keyblade.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at the creature as it blinked at them; his bullets had bounced off its belly harmlessly. "I can see why," he replied in a calm tone. "How do we defeat it?"

"You have to hit it from behind which is _impossible_ because it -"

"I see," he interrupted her. He jumped. From their spots on the wall, Sora and Riku both gaped in astonishment as Vincent soared over the head of the Large Body, twisted his body to face it, and began blasting away at its back, all with a speed and grace that could rival Nature's finest bird of prey. Confused, the rotund Heartless turned to face the source of its pain, exposing its sensitive spot to Yuko who whooped once in joy and pounced on it. Unsure of which way to turn, the muddled giant looked back and forth between them until it exploded into a spray of black dust.

"All right!" Yuko cried, jumping a little in celebration. Vincent just smiled and reloaded his gun.

"Good job!" Sora called to them, his hands cupped around his mouth to help his voice carry. He took a breath to yell something else at them, but instead his eyes brightened and his hands fell back into his lap. Turning to Riku, he asked, "Do you hear that?"

Riku cocked his head and listened. And heard the sound of someone clapping. He caught Sora's eyes and nodded in confirmation.

"There's an apprentice on the building behind us, isn't there?" Sora asked with more annoyance than anxiety.

Riku turned his head to look at the mentioned spot. "Yup."

"It's Braig, isn't it?"

"Yup."

The boys turned around just as Braig's lilting drawl floated overtop them. "Well, well, not bad for a couple of Even's rejects." He grinned at Yuko's and Vincent's looks of surprise and then lowered his eyes to Sora's and Riku's dark faces. "You seem to have a knack for attracting discarded dolls. If we ever lose one we want back, I'll know where to come look first."

Riku winced involuntarily at the insult to Yuko and Vincent, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sora flush in anger. "You here to fight us this time," the younger boy demanded, "or are you just gonna taunt us and then run away?"

Braig pulled a gun out of its holster and began to spin it around on his finger lazily. He was sitting on the roof of the cafeteria with his back against an exhaust pipe. One leg dangled over the edge while the other was pulled up so that he could rest an elbow on his knee.

"Well, that's a good question. Y'see, Even ordered me to come here and call up some Heartless for you to fight so he can get some more of his precious data." He scrunched up his face in obvious distaste. "But now that I'm here …" He trailed off and waved his free hand in the air. A Red Nocturne popped into existence before him. Braig shot it through the head. As it faded into dust, he finished, "… I'm realizing just how bored I am. So now I need to decide whether I want to follow orders or have some fun." He showed them his teeth in a dangerous grin.

Riku's mind quickly turned and deliberated. If they could convince Braig to fight, they could reduce the number of apprentices to three and finish their mission here on Midgar. He had no doubt that he and Sora could win over the trigger-happy loud-mouth, and with Yuko and Vincent to provide backup, the fight would be even easier. But how to do it? Well, Braig liked to talk trash, and those who did generally couldn't take it. Riku smirked to himself.

As a Blue Rhapsody appeared and met the same fate as the Nocturne, Riku said, "You'd better just follow orders. Dilan told us, you know. That you're scared of us."

"Scared?" Braig barked, sitting up straighter. "As i- … uh … You wish!" He nodded to himself for the quick recovery. "I'm not scared of a few kids with toys."

"Reeeally," Sora drawled, catching Riku's eye. He had picked up on his friend's train of thought. "'Cause I might be scared of the kids who totally wasted one of my allies."

"Yeah," Riku added, "and you can't count on Even or anyone else to come bail you out. He doesn't care who he gets his data from."

"Huh, well that's true enough." Braig flipped the gun into the air, caught it, and twirled it into his holster. Rising to his feet, he said, "But y'see, I'm not scared of you for a very important reason. Even told me all about your fight with Dilan and that very impressive attack you pulled off. Unfortunately for you, in order to do a double attack, you kinda need two people."

Before either boy could question this odd statement, Braig disappeared with a flash and reappeared on Riku's right only a dozen feet away. Riku only had enough time to turn his head and catch a glimpse of the ball of energy zeroing in on him before it had engulfed him. His entire body froze into place.

"_Oop … aisy …_" The energy distorted the sound of Braig's laughter as it filtered through to his ears.

"_… iku! …_" Sora's worried voice drifted to him. Riku tried to turn his head but quickly stopped the effort. He could move if he tried hard enough, but it _hurt!_

Sora rushed at Braig with Keyblade ready, but the apprentice leapt up into the air beyond his reach and stayed there. He drew both weapons and began firing at Sora who blocked the shots with his blade. Behind him, Riku heard popping noises which he soon realized were Vincent discharging his gun. Braig stopped firing at Sora and used his large weapons to block Vincent's bullets and also the knives which soon began flying at him as well. Riku slowly began to turn, working through the pain and bringing Yuko and Vincent into his line of vision.

"_Ow! …_" Braig cried as a few of the projectiles found marks in his arms and legs. "_… ittle brat!_" He turned his weapons on them and unleashed his fury in bolts of energy. Yuko summoned her Keyblade and blocked as best as she could while Vincent merely dodged with an air of detached calm. Sora stopped the onslaught by jumping up on the wall and then leaping towards Braig; he did not have enough altitude to do any damage, but his blade crashed against the guns and knocked them sideways before he fell back to the ground.

"_... too high … I can't … up to you …_" Sora called to the other two.

"_…and back!_" Vincent replied. As Yuko complied, he hung his gun in his belt and then crouched to one knee, already beginning to glow a faint red. Riku swallowed hard as he realized what the tall boy was attempting to do. If he could control it, Braig would be so toast, but if he couldn't … Riku desperately hoped Sora and Yuko would be able to handle two opponents.

With a great roar that Riku could hear clearly even through the energy ball, Vincent changed. But instead of the form of Chaos that he had expected, the other boy had become a large bluish-purple beast with great claws and two horns rising out of a mane of white hair. It lifted its head to Braig, and Riku saw the face of a wolf with glinting yellow eyes and a red beard. It grinned.

Braig's expression was appropriately surprised as the creature lunged at him. He phased out just in time to prevent being gutted by a set of sharp claws and phased back in several feet away. The beast relocated him quickly and hurled a fireball at him. Braig dodged and managed to get off a shot before being forced to phase out and in again as a well-placed slash attempted to tear him in half. The two combatants flew about the courts in a wild dance of flame, bullets, and claws.

Riku watched as much of the battle as he could while keeping his head still. He stood in awe of Vincent's speed and of his predatory ability to find Braig instantly whenever the apprentice jumped to a new place. Sora, for his part, tried to stay close to the other two, and whenever Vincent would force Braig down towards the ground, Sora would leap up and slash at him with his Keyblade. Sora got in quite a few hits this way, and once he even managed a short aerial combo before Braig escaped.

"_…ku? … Riku?_" The voice on his right drew his attention away from the fighting. He moved his eyes and saw Yuko standing next to him, her face full of concern. "_… you all … ight?_" she asked. She lifted a hand and pressed it against the outside of the ball that had trapped him.

_I'll be okay,_ he wanted to say to her, but his vocal chords would not respond. He smiled as best he could, although he had a suspicion it looked more like a grimace. His eyes fell upon her hand, and slowly, he lifted his own to mirror her action. She watched him carefully, noting the progress of his arm and the pain in his face that he tried to hide from her. Eventually, he succeeded in placing his palm parallel to hers, and he lifted his gaze to see her smiling at him with obvious affection. He felt a pressure in his chest that had nothing to do with the energy that surrounded him.

"_… 'll be … ay. We … et you … t of there._" She pulled her hand away and reached into her belt for her knives. Riku watched her expression harden as she shifted her attention to Braig and the battle that continued to rage above and around the courts. Then she was gone, racing toward the action at top speed.

The fight shifted in and out of Riku's line of sight, moving far too fast for him to follow with his body constricted as it was. His eyes noted that Yuko and Vincent had begun to work together again, the beast hurling her light frame at Braig like one of the knives she preferred, the girl somersaulting over him to strike him with her blade as she passed. When Sora caught on, the attack became devastating indeed; he waited below and unleashed massive combos on the falling apprentice who would escape only to have the girl fly over him again and smash him back down to Sora.

Riku did not see the finishing blow, but he heard it. Braig's death wail reverberated through the ground and up through his feet, causing the ball to shake. Within seconds, the light began to flicker and fade. Riku tried moving an arm to test the ball's strength and, finding that movement was much easier now, turned around in time to see the cocky shooter dissolve into a shadowy fog.

"Ha!" Sora cried, twirling his blade a bit. "Two down!"

Yuko turned to Riku to check on him, and he smiled at her to let her know he was fine. Then his eyes shifted to Vincent. The battle was over, but the beast remained, and Riku was concerned to see what would happen to the other boy now. Thankfully, the purple creature began to glow and transform, and within seconds, Vincent stood before them again, breathing heavily and a bit pale, but human.

"That was great, Vincent!" Sora told him with wide-eyed appreciation. "Just awesome!" Vincent brushed damp hair from his eyes and nodded.

"Good job, you guys," Riku called to the three of them. He started walking towards them … and fell to one knee. His legs felt like jelly and could not support him. "What the ... ?" he whispered to himself.

"Riku!" he heard both Sora and Yuko cry. They ran to him, one dropping down on either side. He lifted his head to gaze into their worried faces.

"I'm okay," he assured them. "My legs are just weak for some reason. That energy must have drained them."

A playful smile flickered across Sora's face. "You want me to carry you inside?"

"No," he replied with emphasis. "Just let me sit here for a minute and see if they recover." He tipped his weight to one side to force his body to sit down. When he raised his eyes to Sora again, he saw the younger boy glancing between him and Yuko on his other side. A small grin crept into his face that made Riku want to deck him.

"Okay," Sora said with a hint of amusement. "Take your time." He rose before Riku could snap at him, walked over to Vincent, and easily roped the quieter boy into conversation.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Yuko asked. Riku turned his head to look at her and noticed the lines in her forehead and the anxiety in her eyes. To his delight, they melted away when he smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he replied. And then, to keep her there and to stave off any awkwardness, he added, "You know, you had some pretty good moves yourself out there."

She brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah." Using her participation as a springboard, he led her into a conversation about the battle that had just happened. She listened appreciatively to his compliments and added her own thoughts on her various attacks. Together they discussed improvements, variations, limitations, strategy, like two detached soldiers analyzing strengths and weaknesses.

Through it all, she kept hold of his hand which she had taken upon settling next to him, and for the first time, Riku allowed himself to hope. That he could banish her sadness, that they could save her from the darkness, and that someday they might have a future with each other. That Yuko would be his as he was already wholeheartedly hers.

* * *

A/N: And the surfer dude wipes out. ... splash ... When I first thought of this idea, I thought about having Riku cut off from all sound, but then I decided that would be too extreme. Besides, ya gotta have Braig/Xigbar say "Oopsy daisy" at least once!

My image of the Galian Beast comes from _Dirge of Cerberus_, as did the one I used of Chaos. I've never played the game and probably never will since I don't like shooters, but the graphics sure are pretty.


	17. Seventeen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Seventeen **

He was leaving. She had opened her heart, asked him to stay, allowed herself to be happy, and for nothing. He was leaving anyway.

"I don't understand!" she nearly shouted. Anger had come to comfort her in her pain. Familiar and strong.

He smiled at her, ignoring the edge in her voice. "I already explained it. Sora and Riku agree with me."

"Well, I don't! Vincent -!"

He firmly placed his good hand on her shoulder. "Look," he interrupted, "you need to get to Balamb as quickly as you can so the remaining three don't send more enemies here. Take the fight to Balamb and free Midgar. That was your plan, right?" He waited for her to nod and then continued, "But there are still Heartless here. Too many for our troops to comfortably take care of. So I'll do it. I'll clear out their base here while you clear out the one on Balamb."

"You're going to take care of all the Heartless by yourself?"

He smirked gently at her. "You don't think I can?"

Yuko crossed her arms over her chest and sulked. The wind tugged at her ponytail as she and Vincent stood just outside the Garden's front gates. Sora and Riku had retreated several steps behind them, far enough away to give them privacy as they argued but close enough to come bid Vincent farewell when the fight had ended.

"You don't even know where to start looking for their base," she grumbled, firmly determined to give him as hard a time as possible.

To her surprise, he answered promptly, "The Abes Building."

Her head shot up, and she stared at him. The ghost of a smile flickered across his face at her reaction. "The company that makes blitzball equipment?" she asked incredulously. "How in the world do you know that?"

He dipped his chin into the collar of his cape. The hint of smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Chaos knew," he replied in a quiet voice. He lifted his hand and placed it over his chest. "It's still here, waiting to be called on. The beast as well, and I don't know how many others. I need to find out. I need to find out who I am now and just what is lurking inside me." He raised his eyes and stared into hers. "Alone."

She buried her fists in her hips and glared right back at him. "Why alone? It's like Riku said, we can get you under control if you can't handle it."

"Except that Riku was in no position to do that during the fight with Braig."

"That wasn't his fault!" she exploded, suddenly furious that he would attack Riku, conveniently forgetting that she had been the one to bring up his name.

"I'm aware of that," he responded with a laugh in his voice that infuriated her even more. "But the point is, with all the Heartless and the apprentices to fight, do you really want to worry about having to fight me as well? I called on the beast during the battle because I was relatively sure I could control it, but for the others, I have no idea. What if I go berserk and the only way to stop me is to kill me? Would you really want to have to make the decision between your life and mine?"

Yuko swallowed and looked away, unable to answer. What would be worse: not knowing whether or not Vincent was still alive or knowing for certain that he was dead because she had killed him herself? If she could talk him into coming but just not using his dark powers, then maybe … but no, that was selfish of her. He needed to figure out what had happened to him; she could certainly understand that.

She sought his eyes again and stated, "Once we've dealt with the apprentices, I'm coming back and I'm going to find you." When he nodded in response, she asked, "What should I tell Devalin?"

The relief on Vincent's face was obvious. He had clearly not expected her to give in to him so easily if at all. He thought about her question for a minute before answering, "Tell him I was honored to be his aide and I hope that someday I'll see him again."

Yuko nodded, internalizing the message, and then asked, "And Luci?"

Vincent visibly winced. Yuko felt a small bit of perverse pleasure at the reaction. Her conscience scolded her, but she was too upset to pay attention to it.

In a near-whisper, Vincent said, "You won't be going to Luca. You won't see her."

"Yes, but Dev will," she insisted. She wasn't going to let him worm his way out of this. All those letters he had written, gushing about the girl who had claimed his heart, enough romantic nonsense that she and Zell had stared at each other in amazement and wondered if _their_ Vincent had really been the one who wrote them. Thanks to them, she knew how much Vincent and Luci meant to one another, and she was not about to let the other girl suffer in ignorance just because he didn't want to deal with it.

She pressed him, "What should I have him tell her?"

Vincent remained silent for a long time, his eyes to the ground. Finally, he answered softly, "Tell him to look in my desk in my office on Luca. Left-hand side, top drawer. There's something in there for her. A present. Have him give it to her and tell her to sell it and use the money to build a new life for herself."

Yuko's anger began to grow. What kind of stupid, juvenile garbage was this? Intentionally misunderstanding, she said, "So you're breaking up with her then?"

His head shot up in shock, but when he met her fierce eyes, he lowered his chin again. "No. It's just …"

"Just what?" she demanded. "Just that you think she won't want you anymore because of what happened?" She stopped and blinked to herself. The meaning of his "present" had come to her. "It's a ring, isn't it?" she asked, rage building with every word. "You were going to propose to her, weren't you? And now you're telling her to sell it instead? You _idiot!_"

Vincent shrank back, and murmured sounds of surprise and alarm rose from the other boys behind her. She was fully aware of how loud and how scary she could be when she was this pissed off, but right now she didn't care. He thought he was doing Luci a _favor_, that she'd rather have some bright and shiny "new life" than a life with him. Could he _be_ any more stupid?

"She deserves better … " he was stammering.

"Better than what? Better than you? Better than a sweet, wonderful guy who adores her? Better than _love_?"

"Better than _this_!" he finally snapped, thrusting the gauntlet into her face.

But Yuko only laughed at him. "And what is that other than a way for you to wallow in self-pity? You really think Luci will care what you look like on the outside? You think she'll be unwilling to help you out with any darkness or depression you might have? You think she won't wait for you if you need her to? Do you really think that little of her? I thought you loved her."

Vincent blinked at her, stunned. "I … I …"

Yuko pressed on, confident now that she knew she was winning. "Drowning yourself in regret and guilt is a colossal waste of time. You're still alive; your fellow soldiers weren't so lucky. You should make the most of the time you were given." She raised a hand and tapped her chin with a finger, pretending to think. "Now, that speech sounds familiar. Who said that to me, I wonder?"

A small smile tugged at Vincent's lips. "I did," he answered quietly.

"When was that?"

"When you came out of the machine."

"Oh, that's right." She rested her hands on her hips and grinned at him triumphantly. "And by the way, that ups my count to three times in as many days."

Vincent stood there for several moments, gazing at the ground and trying to stop the smile that was spreading slowly but surely across his face. Finally, he gave up and started to laugh. He reached out with his good hand, took Yuko by the arm, and pulled her into a hug. Once she had recovered from the surprise, she squeezed him tightly, overjoyed that she had stopped his spiral of self-destruction.

"Thank you," he said when he had released her. "You're a great friend, Yukes."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "You're welcome, Vinnie." They laughed some more at that, but she sobered quickly and said, "Go do what you need to do and come back to us, okay?"

"Yeah," he answered with a nod. "I'll come back. I promise."

"So what do I have Dev tell Luci?"

Vincent smiled gently. Softly, he replied, "That I love her. And that I'll see her again, if she wants to wait for me."

Yuko reached up and ruffled the soft dark hair that she had loved to abuse during her childhood. She smiled happily. "I'll do that."


	18. Eighteen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: This chapter is a split POV, half Riku, half Yuko. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Eighteen **

"Riku?"

He looked up and saw Yuko walking towards him, carrying some clothing in her arms. She dumped it all on the floor, close to where he sat doing an inventory of their supplies, and looked around. "Where's Sora?"

Internally, Riku groaned. The real answer to that was "Gone off so the two of us can be _alooooone_, although he's probably spying on us from somewhere." Instead of telling her that though, he replied, "He was hungry so he went to raid the kitchen." He glanced down at the pile of fabric. "What did you find?"

She crouched down next to him and rested her elbows on her knees. "Just a few extra uniforms. I went through all the other stuff I had, but I decided I didn't need to take it with me. It'll be nice to have the uniforms though. Clean clothing and all that."

He cocked his head at her. "You know, you don't have to wear your SeeD uniform all the time." But when she snapped her head up and glared at him, he threw up his hands in defense and retracted his statement. "Nevermind, I take it back. I didn't say anything."

The happier mood returned as she laughed at him. "Good."

He shook his head lightly and went back to counting Elixirs. Somehow they had nearly run out of the wonderful and extremely rare items. He made a mental note to berate Sora for squandering them. He'd probably gone and shared them with Donald and Goofy again. Riku had _told_ Sora that you couldn't trust them to know when an item was necessary. Those two had the tendency to use one just because they had it.

"Um, Riku?" Yuko's voice drew him from his counting.

"Yeah?"

She had her head tilted to one side and seemed deep in thought. "You know when you guys fought Dilan? You had this one move where light came out of your palm. How did you do that?"

He shrugged. "Oh, that's a leftover move from when I used to wield the darkness. It's not that powerful anymore, but it's still good for shock value. I used to have a whole arsenal of attacks that could take down just about anyone. But," he added with a small smile and shake of his head, "I'm not at all sorry that I lost them. I'd much rather be back in the light … oh … uh, I mean …" He trailed off, suddenly realizing how his words might have hurt Yuko. He risked a glance at her, his apology written in his face.

She, however, had not seemed to notice. She still wore the contemplative expression, brow slightly furrowed, eyes out of focus. "I see," she said vaguely. Then, her gaze snapped to his and she asked, "Is it something that you can teach me?"

Riku leaned back on his hands and looked at her in open surprise. That was something he had never thought of. Teach her how to use the darkness the way he once did. "Yeah, I think so," he replied and practically jumped to his feet. She rose also, eagerness shining in her face. Then, a thought struck him, and his enthusiasm waned. "It can be dangerous though," he warned her. "You have to keep a strong hold on your heart and not give in to the darkness inside you."

She smiled at him with more than a trace of condescension. "Riku," she sighed. She flicked out her hand, and Moonlight Arrow appeared.

He laughed. "Guess I forgot who I was talking to. Okay then, let's give it a try."

For the next twenty minutes, he described to her all he could remember about accessing the darkness within his heart and manipulating it to obey his wishes. He described how to find it, how to shape it, how to move it throughout the body so that it would pool in the hands, how to force it out as an energy attack. Yuko listened attentively, asking questions when needed, and testing out his descriptions with her own heart and body. She quickly got the hang of shaping the darkness within her, but she had trouble getting it to follow her orders to move down her arms to her hands.

"Here," Riku said as an idea formed in his head. "Let's try this." He moved behind her and reached his right arm around over her shoulder. He placed his hand on her chest, directly above the sternum. "Concentrate on my hand," he told her, his lips hovering just slightly above her right ear. "Attach the darkness to it. Then, when I move my hand, picture the darkness moving with it. I'll guide it down to your hand for you. Let me know when you're ready for me to move."

He paused and shut his eyes, hoping she would need a little time to accomplish the first step. This idea hadn't been such a good one after all. Being this close to her was sending little pings of excitement through his stomach. He realized his left hand had somehow settled onto her hip although for the life of him he couldn't remember putting it there.

"Okay," she said, and her voice jolted his eyes open. He forced himself to focus on the current task. He was teaching her how to use the darkness. He was absolutely not putting moves on her. Because if he tried it, she'd beat him senseless.

"Okay," he echoed, trying to keep his breathing steady. "Now have it follow me down." He slowly moved his hand across her upper chest, making _extremely_ sure he didn't touch her breast, over her shoulder, and down her arm. When his hand reached hers, he had to stop himself from weaving their fingers together. "Do you feel it there?" he asked, mentally clamping down on all the nuances and innuendos that one little phrase could contain.

"Yes," she replied with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Then let it go." Another totally loaded sentence.

A second later, a small ball of dark energy leapt from her hand and traveled a few feet. It was very weak and evaporated almost instantly, but it had appeared.

She cried out in joy. "I did it!"

He laughed, willingly giving in to her infectious happiness. "You sure d-" He turned his head to her and suddenly stopped. She had twisted in his arms to look up at him, and the movement had brought their faces so close that their noses almost touched. His lungs pulled in a breath and refused to let it go. She had such an odd expression on her face as her eyes darted nervously back and forth between his. Her fingers twitched, and, without even willing them to, his fingers slipped between them.

_If I lean just a little bit in, I can kiss her. But will she let me? Look at her face! Her beautiful midnight eyes. She wants me to kiss her. Heh, willing to bet your future children's lives on that? Not really. For crying out loud, say something at least. Finish your stupid sentence!_

He swallowed, raking a dry tongue over the roof of his mouth. "You sure did."

* * *

Yuko stared up into Riku's mesmerizing green eyes, half-hidden behind his long silver bangs. She couldn't move; she could barely breathe. And the most frightening thing about it was that he seemed to be having the same reaction. Which meant that everything had just gotten much more complicated.

_He's going to kiss me. I just know it. Unless I stop it right now. Come on, turn your head away. Hellooo? Midgar to Yuko. Time to stop swimming in that gorgeous blue-green sea and get on dry land before you do something you regret. _

He had gently wrapped his arms around her waist, but his right hand still held hers, so she was partially hugging herself. It felt so warm and comforting; she wanted to stay there forever. And their faces were so close together that when he exhaled, his breath puffed gently over her cheek, sending little darting shivers into her neck.

_I … I want to kiss him. I want to be with him always. What? What am I thinking? He's no different than any of the other cute boys you've kissed. Except he is. This is more than just a physical attraction. This is … No. I … I can't handle this right now. I just … _

_I just can't!_

She violently pulled her face away, ripping it from the warmth of his breath and the soft promise of his lips. Eyes tightly shut, she sucked in air through her teeth in an effort to calm herself down. With a shaky sigh, Riku buried his face in her hair, and she let him. She owed him that for the destruction of the moment, an occurrence that had not been his fault in the slightest.

The butterflies in her stomach erupted into sadness. It coursed throughout her, taking control of her chest and her limbs. If she had tears to shed, she would have released them in waves.

_Everyone I love leaves me. _

_Zell, Sydney … Vincent. _

_"I'll come back. I promise." _

_I'm sorry, but I can't believe that right now._

The arms around her tightened slightly in a hug and then let her go. She looked up at Riku in surprise. He was smiling down at her as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't just rejected him.

"That was a pretty good job," he said lightly, referring to the blast of darkness. "Let's see if you can do it again."

She blinked at him, not believing he could let go of what had happened between them so easily. "Riku …"

He pressed a finger against her lips to stop her, and she watched his smile transform into one more gentle and, yes, loving. "It's okay," he told her in a soft voice. "Don't worry about it."

She looked up into his face and understood. He hadn't let it go; he'd never let it go. But he had what she didn't. He had faith.

_Riku. Will you stay with me? Will you stay long enough for me to fall in love with you?_

She gazed into his beautiful eyes and smiled.


	19. Nineteen

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my husband. Thank you, my love, for waiting.

* * *

**Nineteen **

The entire walk back to Devalin's camp, Riku had to deal with Sora's grins and sideways glances. He had indeed been spying on them again and had been so upset that Riku and Yuko had not kissed that as soon as Yuko left, the younger boy had practically tackled the older and demanded an explanation. _"Why did you hesitate? You let her get away! And what are you so happy about? You _messed_ it _up_!"_

Riku had been on such a high that he hadn't even threatened Sora with bodily harm. He had only laughed and wondered aloud what Kairi would think about Sora's budding voyeurism. That comment had made his friend turn a previously untested shade of purple which had caused him to laugh harder. He didn't even try to explain to Sora why he was so happy. Kairi had been attracted to him first, after all; he had never had to suffer through the worry of "Does she?" and had never experienced the joy of "She does!"

And as for the missed kiss, well, it didn't matter. Yuko clearly wasn't ready for it, and Riku wasn't about to drive her away by pressing her. He would wait, and now that he knew he wouldn't be waiting in vain, it would be much easier.

He caught Sora grinning at him again and rolled his eyes at him, more out of habit than annoyance.

"Almost there!" Yuko said excitedly. She had chosen to walk on the other side of Sora rather than next to him, but Riku didn't worry. Her obvious awkwardness around him was understandable after what had passed between them, but he had faith it would be temporary.

"You're right!" Sora replied to her statement. He threw Riku an impish grin before scooping Yuko's hand up in his own. "Let's go!" He took off at a run, initially pulling her along after him but soon struggling to keep up with her once she had recovered from the surprise. Riku watched them go with a shake of his head, choosing to keep his own walking pace.

He reached the camp to find them surrounded by a swarm of SeeDs. He noted with amusement how they bombarded Yuko with so many questions that she could barely get a word out before another flew at her and how Sora could hardly stand from all the back-thumping that they were giving him. A few of the SeeDs on the edge of the group noticed him and seemed to be considering congratulating him as well, but a well-timed glare stopped all that nonsense before it started.

"Sora!" Kairi came flying out of a tent, closely followed by Donald and Goofy.

"Kai - whoa!" She barreled into him, knocking him off-balance with a huge hug. Then, she lifted her head, grabbed his face in her hands, and planted a firm kiss on his mouth. His wide eyes grew to saucer proportions, and when she finally let him go, he promptly fell over onto his rear end. He had barely landed before Donald and Goofy tackled him.

Riku thought he would hurt himself from laughing. But then he found himself nearly being knocked over by the small warm weight that was Kairi.

"Do I get a kiss, too?" he teased, ruffling her hair.

She looked up and laughed. "Why? Do you want to fall over?" When he laughed and shook his head, she continued, "I'm just so happy you two are back. Yuko, too … oh, where did she go?" Kairi looked around for the other girl.

"There," Riku told her, motioning with his head to the tent Kairi had exited. Devalin had appeared, and Yuko had gone to him. Riku watched her salute the President and found himself wondering why she had never done that before. He looked back down at Kairi, still hugging him, and noticed the bow strapped to her back. "What's this?" he asked, wiggling it slightly with his hand so she would know what he meant.

She grinned at him. "It's a bow, stupid."

"I know that, stupid," he answered easily. "But why do you have it?"

"Because," she replied, stepping back from him, "I wanted to fight with something other than magic. Devalin got this for me from the best weapons' manufacturer on Midgar. It shoots energy bolts instead of arrows so as long as I have magic power, I won't run out!" Her cheerfulness transformed into a stern determination. Crossing her arms, she stated firmly, "I'm coming with you guys to Balamb."

Riku quirked an eyebrow at her and glanced over at Sora, still trapped underneath two affectionate animals. "You are, huh? You think Sora will let you?"

She pouted prettily. "He has no say in it. I'm going."

"Okay then," he conceded, resolving to be nowhere near that argument when it erupted. "Let's see if we can extract Sora so we can all go report to the President. And no kissing him again," he added with a playful smirk. "I need him to be coherent."

For the next couple of hours, Riku sat in his chair in the tent and listened to others talk. Yuko explained all that had happened to them in her brisk soldier-voice while Sora jumped in now and then to embellish a point he thought she had not sufficiently described. Once they had finished, Kairi and Devalin took turns talking about the status of the front and how, when the Heartless attacks had suddenly stopped, they knew that the other three had succeeded. Sora, Yuko, and Devalin then launched into plans for the next step, the retaking of Balamb, and Riku breathed a silent sigh of relief when he realized Kairi did not intend to make her decision known to Sora until later.

By the time the meeting broke up, night had fallen. Stepping out of the tent, Riku saw Kairi dragging Sora away in the direction of the playground, her looking devious, him looking confused. He chuckled to himself for a moment, and then looked around, wondering just what the heck he was supposed to do with himself now. He took a few steps towards the fountain in the middle of the square and remembered the first night they had come here and the horrible look of pain on Yuko's face as she yelled at him to leave her alone. Those feelings he had harbored, that desperate desire to make her happy again, they made so much more sense now that he knew how much he loved her.

"Hey."

He lifted his chin and turned his head to the voice. She was walking up to him, smiling shyly.

"Hi," he replied.

She tilted her head and looked at him in a way that made his heart flutter. "You gonna just wander around all night again?"

He laughed lightly. "Maybe. Haven't decided."

She watched him with distracted eyes, debating something within herself. Patiently, he waited for her to come to a conclusion and used the time to try to catch his heart and calm it down. After a long but still comfortable silence, she nodded and said, "Follow me."

He did. She took him to a large building about a block away. Pulling open one of the glass double doors, she motioned for him to go in. He obeyed and tried to look around the lobby in the dim evening lights. When her hand slipped into his, he almost jumped, not expecting the touch. She pulled him across the room, obviously familiar with the area, to an elevator that opened quickly when she pushed the button. Inside, she selected the highest floor, and the elevator shot skyward. Riku swayed a little as it lifted; he felt as if they had left his stomach on the ground floor. She smiled and moved her hand from his to his arm to steady him.

When the elevator opened, she led him a short distance away to another glass door, this one much smaller. The night air hit him in the face as she opened it, and they both stepped out onto a wide terrace. Benches were scattered here and there for visitors to use, but Yuko took his hand again and dragged him directly up to the chest-high wall that outlined the area.

"You don't have to wander," she told him with a smile and a wave of her free hand. "You can see all of Midgar from here."

He looked out onto a sea of lights; it stretched as far as he could see in every direction. There was the Garden, straight ahead in the distance, and further beyond, more brightly-lit buildings. Many of the lights flickered in a steady and hypnotizing way, several of them blinking with changing pictures or spelling out words. Riku leaned his arms against the wall and stared.

"Wow," he breathed. Next to him, Yuko smiled as she too leaned up against the wall.

"I like coming here when I feel too stressed," she told him in a calm, quiet voice. "Reminds me of what I'm fighting for. Puts everything back into perspective." The corners of her mouth twitched upwards in a small grin. "And even if I'm not stressed, it's a great view."

Out of nowhere, a wave of homesickness enveloped Riku. It took him completely off guard. He had spent so much time and energy trying to get away from that little world, and now he missed it? But Yuko's description of this place - her sanctuary, her place of peace - reminded him of a certain bowed palm tree and all the time he had spent there alone. Because even if Sora and Kairi had been sitting next to him, he had still been alone.

He swallowed a few times to make sure his voice wouldn't crack before he replied, "I have a place like this back home. A spot on the beach where I like to look at the water and watch the sun set. It's peaceful and soothing and helps me sort through whatever problems I'm dealing with at the time."

She smiled sideways at him. "Sounds nice."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It is. I'd …" He turned his head and caught her eyes with his own. "I'd like to show it to you someday." _I want to share it with you. Make it ours instead of just mine_.

"I'd like that," she had answered, but her smile had saddened and she turned her head away, back towards the beckoning lights. He looked back to them as well, wondering what had affected her mood but afraid to push too hard. After several minutes of silence, she explained it for him by asking, "Riku, do you really believe we'll be able to get rid of all the apprentices?"

"Sure," he answered confidently. But when she did not respond, he asked back, "Why? Don't you?"

She stood there for a moment; then she took a step back and lifted her hands to her jacket. As the zipper came down, Riku blinked in confusion, wondering just what she was doing. He knew what his hormones hoped she was doing, but he was pretty sure that wasn't it. Although when she draped the jacket over the wall and started pulling her shirt out of the waistband of her pants, he felt his face start to burn from a variety of mixed emotions.

"Look at this," she ordered, pulling up the left side of her shirt to show him her midriff. His flustered eyes fell upon a huge scar that traveled across her stomach and around the side to her back. All embarrassment fell away as he understood.

"Wow," he murmured, taking her shoulder and turning her gently so he could follow its progress with his eyes. It rose sharply on her back, crossed her backbone, and disappeared under her shirt, heading towards her right shoulderblade.

"Elaeus gave me that," she explained. She dropped her shirt and hiked up her left sleeve. Another scar zigzagged up her arm. "And this. And a couple on my legs which I'm not showing you." She smiled playfully into his eyes, and he chuckled. "And all from fifty feet away." She picked her jacket up and started putting it back on. "He's terrifying," she whispered. She folded her arms on the wall and rested her chin on them. "I know I'm a lot stronger than I was when I ran away from the machine, and I know that this time I have allies who are much stronger than I am. But when I think of him, of what he's capable of with barely any effort, I get scared, and I start to doubt that I'll ever see Luca again much less travel to new worlds."

"You will," he assured her. "I know you will."

She turned her head so her right ear rested on her arms, and she looked up at him with a gentle smile. She found his eyes with her own and held them strongly. "You have such amazing faith," she said quietly. "I envy you. I really do."

Something in the way she looked at him, something in her calm eyes, in her heartening smile, something took away all his worries and completely unfettered his tongue. "I have to believe," he told her. "I can't imagine my future in any other way. I love you, Yuko."

A quiet sigh passed through her lips. Her eyes lowered slightly. "I know," she replied sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he echoed with a bit of a laugh in his voice. The fact that she had not totally flipped out at his admission encouraged him greatly. "That makes it sound like you seduced me on purpose, like on a bet or just for the fun of it." She jerked her head up with horrified shock in her eyes, but he quickly smiled it away. "It's okay. I know you didn't. Just don't apologize, all right?"

"But I …" Her voice trailed away, and her eyes slipped sideways and refused to meet his. Very quietly, she said, "I don't love you."

_Liar_. But he knew better than to say it out loud. Instead, he picked up her right hand in his and lifted it to his lips. Gently, he kissed the backs of her fingers like a nobleman would do to some great lady. In spite of the chasteness of the act, a visible shiver ran through her. He smiled inwardly and pretended not to have noticed it.

"I don't mind," he said. "I'll wait."

"Wait?"

"Wait."

She watched him carefully for several heartbeats, her eyes searching for answers to the questions she held inside her. Then she smiled and brought her other hand up to cup his in both of hers.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Riku nodded in response, and when they had turned back to the twinkling sea, he laid his arm about her waist and she rested her head in the curve formed by his shoulder and neck. They stood there together for a long time, words no longer necessary.


	20. Twenty

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty **

Sora was sulking.

He sat in the pilot seat of the Gummi Ship, and Yuko swore she could almost see the black cloud that hung over his head. Sighing, she raised her eyes to the front screen. The beautiful world of Balamb with its green fields, blue oceans, and white-capped mountains slowly grew in size as the ship approached. The last time she had looked on this world, she had been just one of an entire squad of young, nervous SeeDs. She remembered hearing her captain's stern voice telling a few overeager soldiers to sit down and shut up, remembered how the strength in his tone had eased the knots in her stomach. And less than three days later, he was gone.

Yuko shook her head to stop the sad memories. They didn't need two depressed people on this ship.

The cause of Sora's bad mood wandered up to Yuko to stand at her elbow. "Are we going to land right in front of the fortress and just barge in?" she asked.

"No," Yuko answered. "We'd probably get shot down before we came close." She leaned over and brought up a small map in the corner of the screen. She enlarged it a few times and then said to Sora, "Land here. It'll be a walk to get there, but I know my way."

"Okay," he muttered, still annoyed that Kairi had come instead of staying behind to help Donald and Goofy clear out any extra Heartless on Midgar.

Yuko straightened. She briefly felt a warmth approach her from behind before hands rested on her shoulders and gently started to massage the tight muscles there. Closing her eyes for just a moment, she swallowed the purr of contentment that rose in her throat. Riku had interpreted their rooftop conversation to mean that he could touch her whenever he felt like it. She fully intended to throw a fit at him for it eventually. Just not yet.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered, opening her eyes again. "Place brings back bad memories."

He laughed softly and without any joy. "I bet it does."

The tone of his voice sparked off a chain of thoughts in her head. He probably had places he'd rather not return to as well. What was the name of that castle? Hollow Bastion? The place he had met the witch, fought Sora, and lost his body to the darkness. He would probably feel like this if that castle sat on the screen in front of them instead of the world where she was born. But no, because she had other memories there as well. Memories of her and Zell and Vincent playing in the sun. Memories of harvest time and water fights and winter evenings curled up in front of the fire with the dogs as pillows.

"And good ones," she added in a whisper.

"Good," he answered and kissed her gently on the side of the head. Oh yeah. She would have to yell at him about that also. Eventually.

They spent the rest of the trip to the surface in silence, broken only by Sora's angry muttering and Kairi's occasional giggling, although Yuko couldn't tell whether the laughter was at Sora's rotten mood or at her and Riku - Kairi fully approved of the match and called them "cuuuute". The younger girl refused to accept the fact that they were not an item. Not yet.

Once Sora had landed the ship and the four of them had exited into the sun, Yuko took a moment to look around and calm the pain that leapt up inside her. There was the old house, the fence that ran alongside it, the mailbox with geese painted on the side. There was the tree that she had climbed, fallen out of, and, when the cast had come off her arm, climbed again. And there was the window that had let the morning sunlight into her room. It was probably still exactly the same. She smiled faintly. Wouldn't that throw her new friends for a loop, to know that _she_ had once slept in a room that had walls painted pink?

"Yuko?" Sora said, anxious to be on their way.

She turned to him, nodded, and led them down the path. She had vowed never to set foot in that house again. Only ghosts lived there now.

As they walked, they passed field after abandoned field of crops growing wild. Plants had no hearts after all, so the enemies had not touched them. But without the farmers to tend them, the fields would decay. Yuko shook her head at the thought. Even if they won this war, how long would it take them to rebuild their worlds?

"So how long will it take us to get there?" Kairi asked as they passed yet another house of ghosts.

"About a day and a half," Yuko replied. "Assuming the Heartless don't slow us down. If we have to stop and fight them along the way, it'll take longer."

"Well, we haven't seen any yet," Sora inserted into the conversation. His mood seemed to have improved, and Yuko wondered if the boy was even capable of staying mad for an extended period of time.

"True," she commented. "But we will."

"Oh, I know," he answered lightly. "But for now at least, that's a good si-"

"Freeze!"

They stopped. The command had come from a field of wheat off to their left.

"Keep your hands where I can see 'em," the male voice demanded, "and don't make any fast moves, or my partner and I will blow your heads off."

"Oh for goodness sakes," a female voice suddenly said from another spot in the field. "They don't look dangerous to me. Look, the one girl has a SeeD uniform on."

"Wait! Wait a minute! Cera!"

The wheat rustled, and a dark-haired young woman stepped out onto the road. She wore a checked shirt and jeans and carried a large rifle comfortably in the crook of her arm. She smiled at them with friendly brown eyes. "Hi. I'm Cer-"

The male voice cut her off violently. "I swear if you touch one hair on her head, I'll cut your hearts out and feed them to Elaeus!"

Cera slammed her free fist onto her hip and turned to where he still hid in the field. "Enough, Reno! They are not going to hurt me. Now get out here and say hi before I come in and drag you out."

The wheat rustled again, and a grumbling young man with blazing red hair and strange red tattoos under angry blue eyes emerged. He also held a gun, although this one looked more modern and he did not lower it as Cera had done. She patted him gently on the arm and then turned back to them.

"Let's try this again. Hi. I'm Cera and this is Reno. You have stumbled into the territory of the Balamb Liberation Front. We thought we had found all the survivors, but I guess we were wrong. Who are you, and what part are you from?"

The four friends blinked at each other, stunned. It had all happened so fast, and they still didn't know exactly what was going on. But one word stuck out in Yuko's mind: _survivors_. Balamb had survivors. Enough to form a "Liberation Front" …

Expectedly, Sora recovered first. "Hi!" he said cheerily. "I'm Sora and this is Riku, Yuko, and Kairi. We just got here from Midgar. We're going to take care of the apprentices for you."

Cera's mouth fell open, and Reno snorted violently in suppressed laughter. "Excuse me?" He turned his head slightly to Cera. "They're obviously insane. Let me put them out of their misery." He lifted the gun to get a better position.

"No," she replied and easily pushed the muzzle of his gun towards the ground. She sighed at him. "I swear, you're so eager to shoot that thing off. Save it for something important. Something like …" Her voice died away, and her eyes, gazing further down the road, grew terribly wide. She lifted a hand, pointed, and cried in a frightened voice, "Something like that!"

They all turned and saw three Heartless swiftly approaching: two Neoshadows and one of the kind that Sora had called a Morning Star. Reno blanched in fear, but he ran forward a few steps and started firing at them.

"Run, Cera!"

"No! I'm not leaving you here!"

"Get out of here! Now!"

The terror in their voices surprised Yuko until she remembered that the people here would not have had any defense at all against the weakest Heartless. She swiveled to meet the eyes of Sora and Riku. They both nodded, and three Keyblades flashed into life.

"Stand back!" Sora ordered. "We'll take care of 'em."

"Are you _nuts_?" Reno demanded, not stopping his constant firing. He had not looked behind himself and therefore had not seen the appearance of the blades. But Cera had.

"Wait, Reno," she started in a voice tinged with awe. "Wait a min-"

Yuko saw the wheat behind the older girl rustle seconds before another Morning Star launched itself into the air directly above her.

"Look out!" She threw herself at Cera and knocked her to the side just as the large Heartless's spikes came down. They buried themselves harmlessly in the dirt.

"Cera!" Reno cried, turning around just in time to be punched. He sailed several feet down the road, and his gun disappeared into the field.

Yuko lifted her head and caught Sora's eye. "I got this one," she said, indicating the closer Morning Star. "You take the others."

He nodded curtly. "Right! Kairi, you help Cera and Reno." Once she had nodded, he took off towards the further Heartless with Riku on his heels.

Yuko leapt to her feet and started slashing at the Morning Star, dodging its fists as she did so. After a moment, it jumped and tried to squash her. She lifted her blade as she had seen Sora do and pushed, but she must have pushed too hard for the creature soared into the air, far too high for her to dribble it. Shrugging, she reached for her knives. A moment later, they clattered to the ground in a heap as the Heartless burst into dust.

She turned to Cera to find the other girl had gone to Reno. He had sat up and was gingerly poking at a growing bruise on his head while Cera clutched his elbow. Kneeling beside him, Kairi brought out a Potion from their supplies and applied it to the wound. As the three of them slowly got to their feet, the other two boys rejoined them.

No longer worried, Cera fixed her sparkling eyes on her friend. "Reno …" she prompted.

"You were right," he muttered with downcast eyes.

"And …"

"And I was wrong."

"Aaaaaaand …"

He sighed and scratched the back of his head, obviously unwilling to admit any more. He said very rapidly, "And just because I'm a city slicker and you're a country bumpkin, that doesn't mean I know more than you do."

"Good," she smiled and patted him gently on the head like some pet.

She turned to the others, but before she could open her mouth, Reno quickly added, "And because I admitted to it so readily, I deserve a kiss!" He grabbed Cera's arm and yanked her to him, planting his lips on hers with an ease that spoke of much practice. When it became apparent this was not a chaste kiss, Sora flushed and Kairi erupted into uncontrollable giggles. Yuko glanced at Riku who shook his head in amusement. The banter between the two suddenly made a lot more sense.

Cera finally pulled away from her amorous partner and took a few steps back. She shook her head lightly and said to herself, breathless, "Guess that's what I get for dating an exhibitionist." She flicked her brown eyes to Reno who grinned toothily. With a smile, she returned her attention to the four, and since Sora had turned a bright shade of maroon and Kairi was still giggling, she addressed Riku and Yuko. "You said you came from Midgar?"

"Yes, that's right," Yuko answered.

"Then Midgar is free?"

"Now it is."

"And Luca?"

"Has always been safe."

Cera nodded happily. "Good." She beckoned to them. "Come with us. We'll take you to our camp, and you can tell us everything."

She began to lead them away, but Reno interrupted her. "Wait, I need to find my gun."

She sighed and looked over her shoulder at him. "You can get a new one back at camp."

"But Ceeeera," he whined.

"Come on, Reno. I'm not waiting." To emphasize the point, she continued walking away.

"Blast," he muttered, kicking at the dirt. He turned to them and motioned with his hand. "Come on then." As they fell in behind Cera, Yuko heard him mutter to himself. "Tch. _Girls_."

* * *

A/N: Cera is the creation of ParisWriter from her fic "Project V". Thank you, Paris, for letting me use her. I'm imagining them both to be about nineteen or twenty here, so older than Sora's gang but younger than their FF counterparts.


	21. Twenty One

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-One **

It hadn't taken Riku very long to learn that Reno liked to talk. He liked to talk _a lot_. While Cera and Kairi lagged behind and chatted like they had been best friends for years, he, Sora, and Yuko walked near the red-head and listened to his life story. Apparently, he was the son of a Midgar CEO millionaire and had been on Balamb visiting his grandmother when the apprentices attacked.

"Pissed me off at first," he drawled in his lazy, confident voice. "Of all times Hell had to break loose on this hick planet, it had to be when I was here seeing the old lady. But then I met Cera, so it was totally worth it." He grinned. "Of course, if my old man finds out I'm dating someone as _low-born_ and _poor_ as her, he'll disown me."

"Stuck-up, rich kid!" Cera called from behind them.

"Dirty gutter wench!" he called back.

"Aw, is the pampered, white-bread babe afraid of a little dirt? Scared of getting your manicured hands soiled?"

Reno laughed and shook his head. "Man, I love her," he confessed. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

He had been leading them down a small dirt path that had branched away from the main road, and now he turned off it into the surrounding forest at a seemingly-random point. After trudging through thick underbrush for several minutes, they finally emerged into a small clearing. Tucked away in that little secret spot was a wooden cabin.

Yuko stopped walking. Riku turned to her in confusion. "I remember this place," she murmured in a distant tone. "We used to come here as children."

Ahead, Reno had kept walking, and he commented, "We don't really have any guards up since there's no point looking around for enemies that can pop out of nowhere. Yo!" he called to two brown-haired boys sitting next to each other on the porch. As they turned their heads, Riku could see they were identical twins, no older than twelve.

"Hey, Reno!" one of them called. "The boss was just about to come out looking for you."

"Yeah," the other said, "and he wasn't too happy."

"Oh great," Reno muttered as the first boy leaned up and shouted through a window, "Reno and Cera are back!"

"It's about time!" a strong male voice thundered. The door crashed open, and a well-built blond stepped through and down the steps. His blue eyes found Reno's and glared. "I swear, if you two _rabbits_ have been at it again when you're supposed to be scouting, I'm gonna send you out to the fortress next time! See how well you can get it on with Ienzo watchin' ya from the window."

Reno laughed at him. "Yeah, yeah, I know you're just jealous. Hey ..." He hooked his thumb back at the rest of the party who had all entered the clearing and fanned out behind him. "We found some new folks, and they totally smashed the Heartless that attacked us."

"You got _attacked_?" one of the twins squeaked.

"By _Heartless_?" the other added in a higher pitch.

"And you're still _alive_?" the first one finished in a tone that could splinter glass.

"Yeah," Reno replied, grinning. "Come and meet 'em."

While this conversation had been going on, Riku had run his eyes over the blond leader again and again. He looked familiar somehow. The young man had a tattoo over the left side of his face like branching fingers, and Riku knew he had never seen that before. But his eyes and the shape of his face sparked something in his memory. It wasn't until he realized that Yuko, standing beside him, had stopped breathing that he remembered.

"Zell!"

The blond turned his head to her, confused. He ran his eyes over her as she stood there in shock. "Yeah, that's right," he said. "Do I know you?"

She took a few tottering steps forward. "It's me," she said shakily. "It's Yuko."

Zell peered at her for a minute, unsure. Then, recognition lit up his face in a bright blaze. "Yuko!" he hollered. He sprinted to her, picked her up bodily, and swung her around, laughing like a child on Christmas morning. "Yuko's here!" Putting her down and admiring her at arms' length, he crowed, "Look at my girl, a fancy SeeD just like she said she'd be. Although," he frowned, "what in the name of blitz have you done to your hair? And your eyes? Is this some sort of Midgar fad, 'cause I don't like it." He looked disapprovingly at Reno as if the whole thing were the red-head's fault.

"No, Zell," she told him softly. "I got like this because … because I've been in the machine."

Zell drew back, his eyes wide. Yuko rested a hand on his shoulder and continued, "I'll tell you everything in a bit. I … I'm just so glad to see you. I thought I'd never …"

"What?" he laughed away her threatening sobs. "You thought a little thing like the end of the world was going to stop me? Nah. Not happening." He pulled her into a huge hug and laughed some more. "You should know I'm indestructible."

"His head is, that's for sure."

"Hey!" Zell snapped at Reno. "I heard that. Take your girl inside and get something cooking to eat. We have guests! And no rabbiting, or I'll Mach Kick your head."

"Yeah, yeah," Reno returned with a lazy wave of his hand. "C'mon, Cera. We gotta go be housewives." She appeared at his side and took his elbow, smiling.

"Kain, Kel, you go help them."

"Yes, Zell!" the twins chirped. They bolted into the cabin; Reno and Cera followed at a slower pace.

Riku stood with Sora and Kairi, all three waiting to be brought into the conversation. However, while he could tell that his two friends felt nothing other than happiness for Yuko's reunion with her old friend, he fought within himself to keep the jealousy at bay. It was stupid of him to feel like this. He had promised her his patience and his trust, and she had accepted them with gratitude and relief -- reactions that spoke loudly of her feelings for him even if her voice remained silent. But at that time, Zell had been dead, and now she knew he was still very much alive. And something in the way he rested his arms against her waist made Riku feel slightly sick.

_What is wrong with you? First Vincent and now Zell. Can't the girl have any friends? Why can't you accept that she has a past that doesn't include you? _

_Because then maybe she'll choose a future that doesn't include me._

He felt a warmth in his hand and looked down to see that Kairi had taken it in her own. She smiled encouragingly up at him. Briefly, he cursed himself for allowing his pain to be noticed by her, but the friendship in her face soothed him. She conveyed with nothing more than her eyes that he had nothing to be afraid of. He smiled at her. Princess of Heart indeed.

"Zell, what happened to your face?" Yuko asked. She lifted her fingers and traced along the black lines in a way that made Riku squeeze Kairi's hand a bit more tightly.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "One of the black things got me. I managed to pound it into dust but not before it had swiped at me. Mark hasn't gone away, and at this point I doubt it will."

Sora piped up, "That's not a tattoo? You got it from a Heartless?"

Zell turned his bright eyes to him. "Yeah, that's right. Who are you guys anyway? You Yuko's new friends?" He returned his attention to Yuko and tried to tickle her. "You replaced me and Vinnie, didja? Fickle little witch! Does he know? Huh, does he?"

Even though Riku knew Zell had just been playing around, the young man's choice of words and his actions caused Riku to flush with anger. He dropped Kairi's hand and took a step forward, intending to make the blond knock it off -- using force if necessary -- but Yuko's reaction accomplished the task for him.

"Zell, please. Please don't."

Zell stepped back, shocked and confused by the torturous pain woven in her face and in her voice. Once he had recovered, he took her hands in his and stroked them gently. "Hey, it's okay," he soothed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. You know what an idiot I am." He watched her carefully as she nodded her head and bit her lip. After a moment, his eyes drifted to Riku who still stood nearby with fury etched in his face. Zell looked from him to Yuko to him again. Then his eyes lit up, and he grinned.

Dropping Yuko's hands and stepping back, Zell said in a bright voice, "Well, all of you come on in. I'll fill you in on what's been happening here, and you can tell me your story, too. And we can _eat_. Reno's cooking tastes like mud, but Cera is pretty good and she knows how to keep him in line." He waved his hand and started leading them to the porch. "C'mon!"

Sora and Kairi followed the boisterous blond inside, leaving Riku and Yuko alone on the grass. He carefully stepped beside her, unsure of her current mood or thoughts.

"You okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," she eventually answered. She lifted a hand to her heart. "That hurt."

"He didn't mean it."

A small smile crept into her face. "I know. He's such an impetuous, blundering fool." She lifted her head and gazed at the cabin, happiness filling her face. "And he's alive. All three of us are alive." She paused for a moment, organizing her thoughts, and Riku watched her, uncertain as to whether she still cared he was there. "We've all been touched by darkness," she finally continued. "But Zell is just the same, and Vincent will come back once he's sorted himself out. And I …" She turned to him and held out a hand. "I have you, Riku, to help me find my light again."

He stood there for a moment, frozen by the happiness and relief that flooded over him. Then, he took her hand and felt a warm tingling rise up his arm. She stepped closer and slipped her arms around his neck in a hug. Before she laid her head down on his shoulder, she whispered, "Thank you," and gently kissed his cheek. He had no tongue with which to reply -- his overflowing heart had stolen it away -- so he rested his head on hers and held her close.

Kairi had been right. He had had no reason to be afraid. No reason at all.

* * *


	22. Twenty Two

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-Two**

"All right, let me get this straight." Zell waved his hand in front of himself theatrically, although most of the gesture's effectiveness was ruined by the half-eaten hotdog in his hand. "You three work for a _mouse_?"

"Well," Sora tried to clarify, "not 'work for' exactly. He doesn't pay us or anything."

"But a _mouse_," Zell insisted. "Cheese, 'squeak squeak', women jumping on tables and screaming. A _mouse_."

Yuko ducked her head to hide her laughter from the others. How typical of Zell to fixate on something like this. He had easily accepted the story of her escape from the machine, the news regarding Vincent, and the announcement that two of the apprentices were already dead. But this one little detail had tied his brain up in knots.

Feeling very wicked, she leaned over to him and whispered, "His Queen is a mouse, too."

His eyes goggled. "Queen? He's married?" He turned to Sora and demanded, "Do they have little talking mice kids, too?"

"Um …" Sora faltered. His desperate eyes darted about to the others at the table, but no one seemed willing to help him.

Next to her, Riku said in Yuko's ear, "That was positively evil of you."

"I know," she answered with a wide grin. While Sora continued to flounder under Zell's interrogation, she looked about the cabin at the handful of people inside. Most of them were children. In fact, none of them appeared to be older than Reno and Cera, who were currently alternating between washing dishes and stealing kisses when they thought Zell wasn't looking. Yuko tore her eyes away from the affectionate couple and counted the bodies in the room. Did they really constitute the entirety of Balamb's surviving population?

"Zell," she said, interrupting his current barrage of questions and drawing his attention away from a deeply-relieved Sora, "when we met Cera, she said you thought you had found all the survivors. Is this …" She waved her hand vaguely to indicate the entire room. "Is this it? Are they all that's left?"

Zell smiled. "Nah, they're just the latest." He leaned back in his chair and explained. "Reno, Cera, the twins, and I hang out here and look for survivors and supplies." He shrugged. "We call ourselves a 'Liberation Front', but really so far all we've been is a search and rescue squad that also scrounges. When we find people or stuff, we ship 'em out to our refugee-camp-type things. They're much farther back from the fortress, back where it's safer. It's always been our hope that once we got around to saving everyone, someone from one of the other worlds would come save _us_." He grinned broadly at her. "And that would be you, Yukes."

She smiled half-heartedly at his attempt to rile her and asked, "Why you five? Why not someone older or more experienced?"

"Well," he replied, scratching the back of his head, "there aren't very many older than us. Almost everyone over the age of twenty-five is now a Heartless. A lot of them went protecting their children, you know. But the funny thing is, the apprentices aren't that interested in little kids. We've got a ton of them at the camps."

"Little children have purer hearts," Kairi interjected from her place beside Sora. "They have less darkness inside them and would therefore be harder to turn into Heartless."

Zell nodded. "Makes sense. And as for why us, well, we're willing to, and that's a lot more than most people. We can take care of ourselves, too. My buddy Reno is a pretty good shot, even if he is a spoiled, swollen-headed city-boy."

"Half-witted hick!" Reno called from the kitchen.

Laughing, Zell continued, "And so is Cera though she doesn't like to fire at stuff unless it's necessary. And Kain and Kel, well …" He turned his head to look at the two brunettes who had perched themselves on an old radiator. "I keep trying to send them to the camps, but they keep coming back."

"We wanna stay here!" one of them piped up.

"Yeah," the other added, "Zell's cool! We wanna be like him!"

Ignoring Reno's loud snort of disgust, the blond continued, "I keep telling them they'll get hurt if they stick around, but they don't listen to me."

"We won't get hurt. We can run faster than anyone else on Balamb."

"Yeah, and if we get in a jam, Zell will get us out. He can beat up Heartless with his bare hands!"

"Yeah!" One of the boys turned on his perch and proceeded to play-punch his brother. "Pow! Bam! Boom!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" The other fought back until they both tumbled off the radiator to the floor.

"Take it outside!" Zell ordered. They complied immediately, running out of the cabin at top speed and slamming the door behind themselves. "Brats," he muttered with an underlying tone of affection.

"Can you really defeat Heartless with your bare hands?" Kairi asked him.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but it takes a while, and I can only handle one at a time. If there's more than one, I usually make like the twins and high-tail it outta there."

Cera wandered into the main room, drying her hands on a towel. "Don't sell yourself short, Zell," she chastised him. "You're the only one of us who's ever killed a Heartless. Even Reno and I can only slow them down enough to allow us to escape." As she spoke, Reno came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. She easily leaned back into his embrace.

"Yeah, I guess," Zell replied. "But still I --"

A sudden scream from outside cut him off. Everyone at the table jumped to their feet as the door flew open and one of the twins ran inside. Eyes wide, he yelled, "Zell! It's Ienzo!"

"What?" Zell bellowed. He ran to the door, the others on his heels.

Outside, they quickly fanned out on the porch and gazed out into the clearing where a young man loomed over the remaining brunette who held a stick in trembling hands in an attempt to defend himself. Yuko's heart sank as she recognized Ienzo. He looked so harmless in his white lab coat, opened to reveal a deep blue turtleneck and light tan slacks. His long silver bangs covered half of his handsome face -- _like Riku's_, she thought, horrified by the comparison. But she had seen personally the terrible things this young apprentice could do; only Even matched him in sheer cruelty.

"Kain! Get back!" Zell yelled. The boy squeaked in response and, dropping the stick, fled to the safety of the cabin.

Ienzo watched him go with little interest. Instead, the deep-blue eye not hidden by his hair moved slowly over their gathered group until it came to rest on Yuko. His lips formed a smile -- small, simple, and terribly cold.

"You've done well," he said to her. His voice was calm and quiet, but Yuko felt as if he had somehow targeted it directly into her brain. "To lead me here where there are so many others."

Yuko choked. The children inside. Zell, Reno, Cera, and the twins. She had put them all in danger. Just by being there, she had exposed them to their enemy.

Ienzo's smile widened as he seemingly fed off of her shock and despair. "As a thank-you, I've brought an old friend to see you." He lifted a hand and motioned to the forested area behind him. At his gesture, something moved within the shadows.

When the second form stepped into the light, Yuko's body instinctively snapped into a salute. Then she remembered that the tall, muscled figure in front of her was no longer a man. Outwardly, he was exactly the same -- black hair cropped close to his head, sharp brown eyes, spotless uniform that practically gleamed -- but Yuko knew that this creature was not her captain, only the embodiment of darkness that had swallowed his heart.

He looked at her with that familiar glower, reserved for soldiers who had disgraced themselves somehow. "Priii--_vate_," he barked, and Yuko again had to fight the urge to snap to attention. "Do you know the penalty for going AWOL during a mission?"

"Never mind that now," Ienzo cut in smoothly. "She will be punished at the appropriate time. For now, just bring her in for questioning. The others you may dispose of as you wish."

"Yessir." He took several steps closer to them as Ienzo faded back into the forest. For a long breathless moment, he just stood there, staring. And then, to Yuko's utter horror, he _changed_. He rapidly grew to three or four times his original height, and all the color in his body darkened into blackness. His arms and legs transformed to resemble the crooked limbs of a Shadow-type Heartless, and his eyes became balls of yellow flame. He stared down at them hungrily.

"Sora, what is it?" Kairi cried.

"Some kind of Darkside," the boy answered, and Yuko could hardly believe the lack of concern in his voice. She was ready to faint from the sight of the monster in front of her, but he almost sounded bored. "Shouldn't be too hard," he continued, confirming her thoughts. He turned to them all and began issuing orders. "Riku, it'll most likely call up some Shadows, so you take care of those and then come help me with its hands. Don't bother with the feet. Doesn't hurt it."

"Got it."

"Let me help!" Zell called, loosening up his shoulders and pounding one fist into the other.

"Okay," Sora agreed. "You help Riku with the little ones then." Both boys ran out into the clearing to engage the small Heartless that had already begun to rise from the ground. "Kairi, Yuko, use your long-range stuff against its head."

"All right," Kairi answered, and Yuko nodded. To her surprise, Cera appeared at her elbow and hefted her rifle up into her arms.

"The head, right?" the dark-haired young woman asked. She raised the muzzle of the gun and fired it. "Reno, get inside and make sure the kids are okay."

"What? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Do it, Reno!" Zell yelled as he smashed his foot into a Shadow.

"Fine," the red-head grumbled, and he retreated into the cabin, muttering about the gun they had left behind in the fields. Cera continued to discharge her rifle with surprising calm. Not willing to be outdone, Kairi quickly unslung her bow and starting shooting off arrows.

"All right!" Sora said, turning back to the Darkside. "This should be a piece of cake." He ran into the clearing and jumped up at one of the creature's hands, starting an aerial combo with his Keyblade.

Yuko reached into her belt and pulled out a couple of knives. Quickly, she scanned the battle in front of her to locate each of the three boys on the grass. She didn't want her blades to hit one of them accidentally from a miss or ricochet. Once she was satisfied she could throw without risk to any of them, she raised her eyes to the great creature's head in order to take aim …

… and gasped as the entire world spiraled away. Clearing, cabin, friends -- all vanished as darkness claimed her vision and created a long tunnel that led directly to her former captain's glowing yellow eyes. They stared at her, piercing her with their heat and their evil intent.

_What's happened?_

**Foolish. **

_What? _

**Pathetic fool of a girl. Did you think you could escape yourself? Did you think your friends would save you? You are a child of darkness now. My comrade. No, my sister. **

Yuko stared up at the two burning orbs in mind-numbing shock. Its voice had penetrated her all the way through to her bones. The sound of fear, pain, and eternal darkness.

**Stop your futile resistance. You are beyond salvation. The light has forsaken you. There is no returning to the light once the darkness has branded you as its own. **

_No! Riku returned to the light! He had lost himself in darkness, had lost everything, and now he wields the light alongside Sora! _

If pure flame could show emotion, the creature's eyes flared with amusement.

**I see. So he can save you, can he? Then why doesn't he? **

Far off, as if through miles of ocean, familiar voices drifted to Yuko's ears.

_(… Sora, something's wrong with Yuko! …)_

**Why hasn't he saved you, daughter of darkness? **

_( … What's wrong with her, Sora? …) _

_Because … because … _

**Because he doesn't know how to. It was a fluke, child. Impossible to repeat. An event that will not occur again for a million years. **

_(… I don't know! …) _

I don't know … I don't know … I don't know …

_He can't save me. He doesn't know how. _

**Shall I show you the true nature of the company you keep? Look, sister. See the friends in whom you have placed so much hope. **

The rest of the world returned, but with a grey, hazy film covering it as if she saw everything through scratched sunglasses. She quickly sought out her friends, but when her eyes found them, she pulled away with a cry of pain. Each of them had a bright ball of light emanating from the center of their bodies, and the sight of it drove thousands of tiny daggers into her skin. Sora's and Riku's lights were particularly bright and covered their entire bodies, and _Kairi_ … The small girl was encased by an enormous pillar of sparkling light that rose to the very sky. Yuko could barely control the screams that threatened to rip her throat into pieces.

**How can they save you when you cannot even stand to look at them? See how they will destroy you? They live in the light, while you can only walk in darkness. **

_No … Stop … Please … _

_(… She's in pain! Do something! …) _

_(… What, Kairi? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it! …) _

**And now, daughter of darkness, see yourself for what you truly are. **

Yuko tried to cover her eyes with her hands, but they were no longer hands. She stared, horrified, at the long black tendrils that had once been fingers, at the crooked black limbs that had once been arms, at the rising, swirling blackness that rose from her body and began to consume her. Her self-control dissolved, and she opened her mouth and _screamed_.

_(… Sora! It has to be Ienzo! He's in her mind! …) _

_(… Kairi! …) _

The world shattered. Yuko staggered and fell. When she finally dared to open her eyes again, she saw the clearing as it had been before, the Darkside still hovering over them although moving slowly as if hurt, and Ienzo in the forest, clutching an arrow that had lodged itself in his shoulder.

"Meddlesome _brats_," he hissed. A portal opened behind him, and he stepped back into it, still grimacing in pain. Seconds later, Sora and Riku finished off the Darkside.

"Yuko!" Kairi called, running to her. "Are you all right?" Yuko managed to sit up and nod, but when Kairi tackled her in a hug, she shrieked from the stabbing pains that shot through her body. "I'm sorry!" the younger girl cried, pulling back immediately. "I forgot. I'm so sorry."

"It's … okay," Yuko replied slowly. She tried to smile even though her mind refused to let go of the image of that tower that reached to the heavens. No wonder it hurt when Kairi touched her. The girl was pure light, and Yuko was pure darkness. _Darkness, and only darkness_.

She raised her eyes to find Riku crouching down in front of her with anxious eyes. He took her hand in one of his and with the other brushed her bangs from her face. "It's all right," he assured her. "It's over now. What … what did he … ?"

"Don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, cutting off the question.

Riku nodded in understanding. He looked like he very much wanted to take her into his arms, but she pulled back a bit, signaling that she did not want him to. At that moment, she just wanted them all to go away and leave her to herself. Alone.

Convinced that Yuko was all right, Zell turned to Cera. "This hideout's been compromised. We need to get everyone out of here. Fast."

"Right," she answered. "I'll get everyone working on packing." She turned and disappeared into the cabin.

"Zell," Yuko said weakly. When he looked down at her, she apologized, "This is all my fault. They followed me here. I'm sorry."

He smiled encouragingly at her. "It's okay, Yukes. They were bound to find us sometime. I'm just glad they found us when you guys were here. Everyone's still safe, and they got sent home with a bunch of wounds to lick." He laughed, "I should be thanking you, not getting mad. Just feel better, okay? We need to get moving."

"We can help pack, right Kairi?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded in agreement. Zell clapped each of them on the shoulder as thanks and steered them inside, following in after them.

Left alone with Riku, Yuko gazed off into the forest with unfocused eyes. She could feel that he wanted to comfort her, hold her, soothe her, but she wanted none of that now. It all hurt too much. Her nightmares had found her, and she knew they would not let her go this time.

Because for the first time, as Riku held her hand in his own, his touch brought a dull ache of pain that throbbed against the darkness underneath her skin.

* * *

A/N: Hm, what's that? You think it was insanely evil of me to lull you all into a false sense of security with the fluff and romance only to pull something like this? Um ... well ... you're right. I'm insanely evil. Mwahahahahahaha! (I blame the bunnies.) 


	23. Twenty Three

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-Three **

By the time they had packed up all of the cabin's supplies, night had fallen. Zell made the executive decision to stay there one more night and then leave for the refugee camps in the morning. Sora decided his group would also stay - partly for protection in case Ienzo or anyone else returned - and then head on toward the fortress the next day. With all the decisions made, Zell sent word through the cabin, and piles of blankets and bedding appeared from nowhere to be strewn all over the floor. The girls offered to put all the children down to sleep, so the boys retreated to the porch.

Outside, Riku sat on the steps leading down to the grass with his arms resting on one drawn-up knee. His ears registered the conversation going on behind him among Sora, Zell, and Reno, but he did not pay attention to their words any more than he attempted to understand the language of the insects that buzzed and chattered all around. His mind was otherwise occupied.

Yuko had withdrawn again. She hid behind a non-committal smile this time rather than a cold stare or an angry frown, but she was hiding all the same. He had no idea what Ienzo had said or done to her, but from his own experiences with The Cloaked Schemer, he could guess. Zexion's illusions had been so real, so terrible, that Riku had very nearly succumbed to them; only Naminé's intervention had saved him. He had no doubt Ienzo's powers were just as damaging. Riku knew that without Naminé the title of savior had passed on to him, but he lacked the gentle Nobody's talents and insights. He was just an ordinary kid.

An ordinary kid who had once lived with a green-skinned witch and commanded Heartless and who now wielded a magic sword and worked for a mouse. Yeah, _real_ ordinary.

The cabin door opened, and Kairi and Cera joined them on the porch. The younger girl looked around and asked, "Where's Yuko?"

Riku turned around in surprise as Sora answered, "She was with you, wasn't she?"

"She left right after you guys did," Kairi explained. She smiled. "I don't think she has much mothering instinct in her. The kids ticked her off." Riku smiled slightly; that sounded like his Yuko. Kairi continued, "She went out the back door, saying she was going for a walk. She hasn't come back yet?"

"No." Sora shook his head.

"Well," she said quickly with a glance at Riku, "I'm sure she'll be back soon. She didn't look super upset or anything." She smiled kindly at him. He nodded back at her in thanks.

Reno stood up and stretched lazily. "A walk sounds pretty good right now. You interested, Cera?"

She smiled and her eyes twinkled. "Sure."

"Just go far enough away that I don't hafta listen to you," Zell ordered without moving from his spot on the porch's wooden planks. Cera blushed slightly at his insinuation, but Reno just grinned. He claimed Cera's hand, and the couple wandered off down the steps and into the darkness of the forest.

Kairi sidled up to Sora shyly. "Um, Sora, you wanna go for a walk, too?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, okay, if you want to." Standing up, he added, "I don't think there's much around here to see, but if you wanna talk about something, I'll be happy to go with you."

Riku had to physically stop himself from going over to Sora and slapping him upside the head. Kairi just sighed, took the eternally-innocent boy's hand, and led him away.

"Great," Zell muttered as they disappeared. "Another set of rabbits."

Riku laughed lightly. "No, don't worry. I don't think either of them even know what you're referring to, although Kairi seems to be learning."

Zell smiled and nodded before leaning his head back against the porch railings. His eyes gazed out at the stars that showed through the gaps in the trees overhead. After several minutes of silence, he asked, "Which one is yours?"

"What?"

"The stars. Which one is yours?"

Riku looked up at the sky along with him. He shrugged. "I really have no idea."

"You going back there when you're done here?"

"Probably."

"What about Yuko?"

Riku snapped his head around to the other boy to find him looking at him intently but with a fair amount of kindness. "What about her?" he asked, unsure of where this conversation was headed.

"You've got the hots for her, dontcha?"

The sheer openness of the question made Riku laugh. "Well, that's one way to put it," he answered. He sobered and continued, "But yeah, I'm kinda hopelessly in love with her."

Zell nodded approvingly. "As well you should be. She's an awesome girl. Although," he added, "she used to be prettier before all this darkness stuff happened to her." He shrugged those thoughts away and fixed his eyes on Riku's again. "Y'see, here's the thing. She means a lot to me. A whole lot. I want to see her with someone really special, someone who'll give her the happiness she deserves."

His blue eyes narrowed, but Riku could see the glint of mischief in them. "So, what?" he asked, playing along. "Am I gonna have to fight you for her?" He narrowed his eyes as well and pulled his lips up in a sneer.

Zell abandoned the charade and laughed. "Nah. You'll do just fine. But, Riku …" He suddenly became serious again and stared carefully into Riku's eyes. "… I'm kinda worried about the fact that you're from another world. When it's all over, what are you two going to do? She won't go with you, you know. Not with everything that has to be rebuilt here."

Riku inhaled gently with realization. He had never thought of that before. His visions of the future had always included Yuko because they had to include her. But he had not thought about where they would be or who they would have to leave behind.

"I'm sure Yuko would love for you to stay here with her," Zell said, "but then what about your friends? They'll want to go home." He paused a minute and then asked, "You have family on your world?"

"Yeah."

"You think they'd understand?"

"I don't know."

"Well," Zell leaned his head back and gazed up at the stars again, "it's something you two need to think about. I like you, Riku. You're a good guy, and I think you're good for Yuko. I don't want to see either of you getting hurt."

Riku nodded. "Thanks, Zell."

"Hey, no problem." He grinned. "It's part of my duty as leader, you know? To stick my nose into everyone else's business." A rustling in the underbrush drew his attention. "Ah, there's our beautiful lady now."

Yuko appeared from the trees into the clearing and wandered up to the cabin's steps.

"'Sup, girl?" Zell called to her. "We were wondering where you had got to."

"I've just been around," she answered in a light tone that Riku could tell was forced. She sat down next to him on the steps, and though she turned her face to him, her eyes would not hold his for more than a few seconds. "Sora and Kairi don't have much experience with kissing, do they?"

"Almost none," Riku answered, smiling at her in an attempt to bring her back to him. "Why do you ask?"

"I came up on them accidentally when I was walking," she explained. "Cera must have been giving Kairi pointers or something because she tried to put her tongue in Sora's mouth. He literally jumped a foot in the air. Then he fell over backwards off the stump they had been sitting on."

Behind them, Zell started to laugh, and in spite of his worry, Riku could not stop the chuckles that rose from the image of Sora's surprised face. He would definitely have to bring this up the next time Sora gave him grief about going too slow with Yuko.

She smiled at the sound of his laughter - a real smile, the first he had seen that evening. Then, her eyes flicked to the cabin door. She said quietly, "I think I'll turn in soon, but I wanted to talk to you a bit before I did." The volume of her voice must have signaled to Zell that he was no longer part of the conversation for he stood up, jumped the porch railing, and wandered out into the clearing to get a better view of the sky.

"Okay," Riku replied, watching the blond go with gratitude. He returned his attention to Yuko who had swiveled a bit so that her face looked out into the night. "What about?" he prompted.

"About … about that conversation we had on the roof. I … I wasn't entirely truthful, you know, when I said I … I didn't love you." He reached out and took her hand, and she laced her fingers with his. Before he could say anything in reply, she continued, "I just didn't want to say anything until I was ready to accept the full meaning of my words. Because if I love you …" She turned to him and found his eyes. "… that would mean that I would want a relationship with you, wouldn't it? That I'd want there to be an 'us'. And I just don't …" Her gaze faltered, and she looked away again. "… I just don't think I can be anyone's girlfriend right now. There's too much going on, too much instability and danger."

"I understand," he assured her, lifting his other hand and smoothing a few stray strands of hair that had escaped from her ponytail. "That's why I said I'd wait. I'm not going to push you into any step you're not willing to take. Back at the Garden when we … you know …" She looked back at him with a smile and nodded. "At that moment, I knew, Yuko. I knew that you and I have a future together, and that all we need is time." He laughed. "And heck, neither of us is even two decades old. We have _tons_ of time."

She smiled again, but this time Riku was surprised to see sadness in the small gesture. "You're amazing," she murmured. She lifted her free hand and ran her fingers along his cheek. Riku shivered, but whether from excitement or worry, he couldn't tell. Why was there so much sorrow in her face? "I'm so glad that I met you."

Red flags sprang up all around at her words, but before he could question her, she had leaned in and kissed him. She pressed her lips softly but confidently against his, and her hand slid over his face to the back of his neck where her fingers wove themselves into his hair. Though his mind was still confused, his body reacted on its own, eyes falling closed, hands moving to the small of her back to pull her slightly closer. She broke the contact several times, but only allowed a sliver of space between their lips before joining them again in a slightly different spot. In this way, she teased him with a dozen small kisses of varying lengths that fluttered against his lips and stole his breath away.

When she finally did pull away completely, she rested her forehead against his and took a slow, deliberate breath. Without raising her eyes to meet his, she whispered, "I love you, Riku. Good night." And then she had fled inside.

Riku sat on the steps, stunned. Even though his mind scoffed at him for the clichéd reaction, he raised a hand and brushed his fingers over his lips. His stomach still tumbled and his arms and legs still tingled from the wonderful feeling of kissing her. But he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Why, why, _why _had that not felt like a kiss goodnight but rather a kiss … good-bye?


	24. Twenty Four

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: In this chapter, each segment in italics denotes a change in POV. And in time since they don't happen concurrently. I really love how this one turned out. Enjoy.

* * *

**Twenty-Four **

_Cera, do you have a spare piece of paper and something to write with? _

_Yeah, Yuko, just let me find them. _

As she walked, Yuko practiced firing balls of darkness from her hands the way Riku had taught her. After several hours of practice, she could easily move the darkness around within her body, but she still had trouble releasing it from her palms. It wasn't until she nearly took her own head off with an accidental frustrated wrist flip that she realized she could throw the darkness like she threw her knives. With a bit more practice, she was able to form the darkness into the shape of knives and hurl them at the Heartless that tried to stop her approach. She noted with satisfaction that she didn't even need to pull out Moonlight Arrow for some of them.

She had been walking without stopping since before dawn, so when she crested a hill and saw the fortress looming up in front of her, she sat down in the grass to take a short break. Idly, she wondered if she would even have to go down there or if, assuming she waited long enough, he would come to her.

_Dear Riku, _

_Please forgive me for leaving you a letter like this instead of saying it in person, but I'm afraid of my own weakness when I'm around you. You have such control over my heart that a single word from you could tear down all my resolve and uproot all my plans, and I can't let you do that. I'm very sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness. _

"Riku?"

He opened his eyes blearily to see Kairi's worried face hovering over him. Her hair was still messed up from sleeping, and her eyes still had a touch of puffiness around the edges. Something in her expression sent shockwaves of dread through him, jolting him completely awake, and he quickly sat up from the makeshift bed of blankets.

"She's gone, isn't she?" he asked, his voice hoarse with sleep.

Kairi blinked in surprise and then nodded. She held out a folded piece of paper. He took it and saw his name written on it in small, neat printing. "I found this on her pillow," Kairi explained.

"Did you read it?"

"Of course not," she answered. "She left it for you."

_I am leaving, on my own, for the fortress. I can't allow you and Sora and Kairi to risk yourselves any more for my sake. Ienzo's arrival today showed me just how dangerous I am to all of you. I am a creature of darkness, no matter how much I long to be in the light with you, and I think I've finally accepted that. Even and Ienzo know how to manipulate me, how to use the darkness in me to make me a liability to the rest of you. I can't let that happen in a battle, not in one where any weakness could cause our entire defense to crumble. _

She turned her head slightly as the portal of darkness opened only a few feet from her. He stepped out and stared at her with his hands on his hips. He seemed far less composed than the last time she had seen him.

"You and your little group are getting to be quite annoying," he said in a biting tone. Then, he looked about at the emptiness surrounding them. "Where are they?"

"I left them behind," she explained, getting to her feet. She faced him and gazed bravely into his cold blue eyes. "Even, I've decided to let you study me."

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Oh yes? And why this sudden change of heart?" He smirked at his joke.

Yuko sighed gently and replied, "Because I finally understand that I can never again return to the light and that by fighting against darkness, I am hurting those I care about. So I've come back to you, back to the darkness." She crossed her arms and stated strongly, "But I won't fight for you, not against my own friends."

"That's fine," he replied easily with a small wave of his hand.

"And I want you to let Sora and the others evacuate the refugees. You have me now; you shouldn't need them."

Even smiled at her, and she suppressed a shiver. "If those are your terms, then I accept, my dear."

_Please do not come after me. I am going with a plan, one that should make the task you and Sora still have much easier. Wait for my signal - you will recognize it when you see it - and then come to the fortress. If my plan works, you will only need to clean up the bits that I have missed. Even if it doesn't work completely, it will be something. I will have done my part to help you. _

"I don't like this line about a signal," Kairi said, pointing to the letter that Riku had let her read.

"I don't either," he replied. "It has an ominous feel to it."

As they sat together and worried, others in the cabin had begun to wake up as well. Cera had risen and started to make some breakfast while Reno had started to put some of the blankets away and sort out which bags would go on which backs.

"All right, Cera," Reno said, causing Riku and Kairi to look up. "What did you do with them?"

"With what?" she asked. "And keep your voice down. People are still asleep."

"You know what."

"No, really, I don't."

He held up a bag that seemed lighter than the others. "My materia bombs. They aren't here. What did you do with them? You threw them out, didn't you?"

Riku's heart dropped through the floor. Had Reno just said _bombs_? He looked at Kairi to see that she had thought the exact same thing.

Cera laughed lightly. "No, but I sure would like to. I don't know why you keep them. They don't even work."

"No," he corrected with a frown, "they don't work _right_. They definitely work though."

"They're still trash."

"I worked for ages on them!"

"Doesn't change the fact that they're trash."

"Wait a minute!" Riku had quickly crossed the room with Kairi at his heels. He took Reno by the arm and demanded. "What bombs?"

The older boy blinked at him, confused by his stern expression. "Materia bombs. They work on magic. Hit them with a spell, and they explode with a much stronger spell of the opposing element." He shook his head and began pawing through the bag again, double-checking their absence. "They're just prototypes, though. They don't work right. They're far too strong to actually use. I've been working on them in my spare time to see if I can get their potency down to something safe. As they are now … well, say you hit one with an ice spell. The resulting fire explosion would take out … oh …" He cocked his head in thought. "… two or three city blocks."

Kairi released a small screech, and Riku whispered, "Oh no …"

"What's wrong?" Cera asked, taking a few steps into the room with a skillet in one hand and a dishrag in the other.

Riku looked into her kind brown eyes. Somehow his throat forced out the words. "Yuko's gone. With the bombs. To the fortress."

The skillet clattered to the ground.

_Finally, I want to tell you that I do love you, even though I said I didn't. Hopefully, I'll be able to talk to you alone sometime this evening and explain, but if I don't have the opportunity or if I can't bring myself to say it, I wanted you to at least know it here. I love you, Riku. As much as a battered, aching, empty heart can. _

Even's eyes flickered to someone behind Yuko, and she suddenly felt hands around both of her upper arms, holding her in a grip of iron. She jerked her head up and stared into Elaeus's stony face.

"What -?" she started.

"Don't worry," Even assured her without a trace of warmth in his voice. "We won't kill you. I do need you alive to study you. However, I don't necessarily need you conscious."

He nodded to Elaeus, and her world went black.

_Please give Sora, Kairi, and Zell my love. _

_Good-bye. _

_Yuko _


	25. Twenty Five

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-Five **

"I can't _believe_ you told her about those bombs! Do you even have a single brain cell in that head of yours?"

"Zell, please. You're scaring the children."

"What the heck did I do? She was helping me pack them and asked what they were. So I told her. How was I supposed to know she was going to use them to blow herself up?"

"Please, Reno, keep your voice down."

Riku fastened his belt and zipped up his jacket. Ignoring the argument raging nearby, he walked briskly to the front door. He had gripped the handle and begun to turn it when a hand on his upper arm stopped him. Turning his head, he met Cera's worried eyes.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going after her," he answered grimly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Reno said, coming up to them. "Are you insane? Weren't you listening? If you're inside the fortress when those bombs blow - heck, if you're anywhere _near_ it - you'll die, too."

Riku drilled his fierce gaze into the red-head's skull. "I really couldn't care less right now." Reno took a step back in shock and exchanged concerned glances with Cera.

"Riku!" Kairi called. She ran up to him with one shoe in her hand. "Sora and I are coming, too," she said, panting slightly. "Just give us a few minutes to get ready. Please."

Riku paused for a moment, then dropped his hand from the door handle. "Fine. I'll give you ten minutes. You hear that, Sora?" he called, raising his voice. "You have ten minutes!"

"I'll be done in five!" Sora called back from the other end of the room where he was rapidly getting dressed. Kairi nodded and ran back to finish dressing herself. Closing his eyes, Riku took a brief moment to thank the powers that be for such wonderful friends. Friends who would willingly hang their lives on a sliver of hope so thin that even a love-sick fool had trouble grasping it. _But I have to hold on to it or risk going mad. _

He opened his eyes and sought out Zell. The blond's fierce blue eyes already had Riku in their grip. "Zell, I need directions to the fortress. The fastest way there."

Zell had his arms folded across his chest, and he regarded Riku carefully. "You'll never get there in time," he said in a low voice.

Riku stood up straighter, letting his self-confidence take over. "Watch me!"

The other boy gazed at him in silence for a long moment; then he nodded and dropped his arms. "I think I will. I'll come with you."

"Awwwww, _nuts_!" Reno cried, shocking both of them. "How did I _know_ you were going to say that." He sighed and threw up his hands, "Fine. I'll go, too."

Riku smirked gently at him. "I thought you said I was insane."

"You are," Reno answered with a slight smile. "And apparently so am I." He dropped down next to his supplies and pulled out a pair of small pistols. As he checked them over, he continued, "But you're going to need all the guns you can get if you want to get there as fast as possible. Plus," he looked up and grinned, "I want my bombs back, man."

Zell snorted. "Figures."

Cera reminded them all of her presence by saying softly, "I'll also go."

Reno shot to his feet, guns falling to the floor. "No. _No_, Cera! You can't possibly -"

She cut him off. "You just said they'll need all the guns they can get, and I'm an extra gun."

"But …" Reno's handsome young face was pinched with worry as he looked at his girlfriend. With the sadness in his clear blue eyes, the marks on his upper cheeks almost looked like tears of blood. "But what if …"

"Exactly," Cera replied with gentle strength. "What if." She took his shaking hands in hers and smiled at him. "What if something happens? What if I get hurt? Well, what if _you_ get hurt, Reno? Do you think I could somehow stand it better than you?" She shook her dark head. "I'd much rather face 'what if' with you than without you." She kissed one of his hands, and his face cleared. In that moment, Riku could easily see that they meant far more to each other than making jokes and making out. Underneath the playfulness, a strong love tightly bound their hearts together.

_Like me and Yuko_. He winced. Raising his voice slightly to hide the pain, he said, "You can all come if you want, but you need to get ready fast. I won't wait."

As Reno and Cera nodded and busied themselves with preparing, Zell interjected, "Hey, wait a minute! We can't all go. Who's gonna take the kids to the camps?"

"We'll do it, Zell," one of the twins replied, appearing from nowhere to stand next to him. The other similarly popped into existence next to Riku. Riku looked from one to the other and wondered, not for the first time, how Zell could tell them apart.

"You'll do it?"

"Yeah," the first boy answered. "We know how to get to the camps, no problem."

"We know the way so well, we could do it with our eyes shut," the other added.

Zell laughed softly. "I don't doubt that one bit." He thought a moment, boring his eyes into each of the twins in turn. Finally, he said, "Okay. But I want everyone over the age of fifteen to have a gun." When the boys pouted, he added, "You two can have them as well."

"Yay!"

"All right!"

"But listen to me, Kel, Kain," Zell added seriously, looking at each as he said his name so that Riku finally knew which was which. "Once you get there, you _stay_ there. You are _not_ to come after us. Understand?"

They both nodded. "We understand," Kain answered. "We'll stay. On one condition."

Zell's eyebrows shot up. "What condition?"

Kel finished his brother's thought. "That you tell us all about it when you get back." Both boys smiled at him with surprising gravity and maturity. They truly did understand, but they believed in Zell far too much to admit their worry.

Zell smiled back and ruffled Kel's already messy hair. "I'll do that. Now, let's get moving. Riku looks like he might pop a blood vessel if we keep him waiting much longer." He grinned sideways at Riku as he led the boys away. Riku just shook his head and leaned against the wall next to the door.

Slightly under ten minutes later, Riku, Sora, Kairi, Zell, Reno, and Cera left the cabin together and followed Zell's long, quick strides towards the direction of the fortress. Although no one spoke, each knew perfectly well the others' thoughts. They all shared one strong fervent hope that they would make it before it was too late.

* * *

Yuko slowly opened her eyes. And shut them again when the pain hit her. Her entire head throbbed, and she felt like she had been smacked with a giant rock. As memories started to return to her, she smiled humorlessly to herself. Elaeus. A giant rock wasn't so far off the mark.

Moving more slowly this time, she tried again to open her eyes. Once she had succeeded, she realized she lay on the floor of a small cage. The bars only came down to what would be waist-height, leaving solid wall from there to the floor. She would have to stand up in order to look around. She suppressed a groan and began gathering the resolve to get to her feet.

Before she did, she heard the sound of a door opening, footsteps, and hushed voices. She tried to make out what they were saying, but the effort made her head throb even more. Giving up, she lay quietly and listened to them move about the room. She heard the rustling of paper, scratching of pencils, and the occasional comment from one voice to the other. After a few minutes, she decided they must be Even and Ienzo, come to prepare their specimen for research.

Eventually, Even walked up to the cage and looked down at her. She kept her eyes closed and pretended to sleep. If he wanted her to cooperate, he would have to offer her an aspirin first.

"Good," he replied to something Ienzo had said. "We'll start when she wakes up."

Ienzo's soft voice drifted to her, signaling that he had also moved closer. "She is awake."

Yuko cursed the young apprentice's acute perception and opened one eye to glare at him. He smiled at her, all sweet duplicity. Next to him, Even flicked his eyes impatiently over her.

"Well, stand up, girl," he ordered.

She bared her teeth at him. "I can't," she growled. "I'm lucky to still have my brains in my head after being bashed by your trained gorilla."

Ienzo looked truly offended at her insult to Elaeus, but Even only chuckled. "I thought you were a soldier," he reprimanded her. "The army's brightest star." He smirked at the irony of his chosen adjective. He continued, "You should be used to pain. Or do you expect your enemy to let you recover every time you've been hit in the head?"

Hissing at him like a caged animal - an appropriate comparison - she rose to her feet and glared at him through the bars. The pain distorted the edges of her vision, but she could see those sharp eyes of ice perfectly well.

He nodded approvingly. "Good. We'll begin then." He wandered away, giving her a clear view of the dark room. A large table sat in the center with several mechanical-looking boxes on top. The walls had diagrams and other sheets of paper hanging from them, and one corner held a small computer. It didn't look like a proper laboratory - no beakers of bubbling stuff, no huge computer spitting data - so she assumed they had thrown it together just for her.

"Call that blade of yours," Even ordered as he sifted through some papers on the table.

She frowned at him. "Why?"

His annoyed eyes flicked up to hers. Apparently, he wasn't used to being questioned. "Because I told you to." He paused and frowned right back. "Didn't you say you were going to _help_ me with my research?"

"Didn't you say you didn't need me conscious?"

Even laughed, although she doubted it was at her boldness. He held up a different set of papers. "I didn't for these tests," he replied with a smile. "But I do for this one."

Yuko blinked. He had already run tests on her? How long had she been out? What were the others doing now? What was Riku doing? Her fingers strayed on their own to the belt she usually wore and found that it was gone. Slightly panicked, she glanced around the room until she found a small table near the door that held her belt. She had hidden Reno's bombs in there along with her knives.

Even was still waiting for her. "The blade, girl."

Sighing, she did as he asked and summoned Moonlight Arrow.

He nodded. "Good. Now send it back." When she had, now thoroughly confused, he turned to the boxes and began to fiddle with them. Ienzo walked over at this point to help. After a few moments, Even said, "Do it again."

Rolling her eyes, Yuko held out a hand to do as ordered … and found she couldn't. She stared at her hand in disbelief.

"Excellent!" Even cried, smiling in happiness. He made several hurried notes on his sheets. Catching sight of her stunned face, he explained, "Light filters. We're attempting to create an artificial Realm of Darkness. Now, let's see just how little light you need to wield that." He turned back to the boxes and made some adjustments.

It didn't take Yuko very long to get completely bored with this "test". All she had to do was call and dismiss her Keyblade. Very dull. But Even and Ienzo were both extremely happy and excited, jotting down notes and making comments she didn't understand. Several times she felt like hurling the blade through the bars in an attempt to behead one of them, but she knew she had to keep control of her impatience. She couldn't do anything until she got those bombs back.

Finally, they seemed satisfied. Ienzo nodded to Even and left with a stack of notes as the older apprentice finished tuning the boxes. He turned to her and smiled. Yuko blinked. He seemed innocently happy, not at all the cunning monster she knew. "Thank you, my dear, that will be all for now. I'll send someone in with some food, and until then you should rest." He turned and picked up his own stack of papers before heading towards the door.

"Even," she stopped him. When he turned back, she pointed at the still-buzzing boxes. "You left your machines on."

He smiled again, and Yuko shrank back a bit. The evil beast had returned. "I know. Did you think I don't remember what you did to this place before? I'm not fool enough to give you that blade back."

She planted her fists on her hips and glared at him. "I said I'd stay. Why are you treating me like a prisoner?"

He bowed slightly at her in mock-respect. "Please forgive me, my lady, if I don't believe you." When he straightened, his cold eyes locked on hers. "As I said, I am not a fool." With one final smirk, he left.

Yuko slowly counted to thirty before allowing herself to laugh. Fool or not, Even didn't know everything about her. Like how she didn't need weapons or even her Keyblade to escape. Although perhaps he should have. He had armed her himself after all.

A few daggers of darkness was all it took to break one of his precious machines. Then she called her Keyblade and opened the door. After retrieving her belt and putting it back on, she let her hand slide into the pocket that held the bombs. She pulled one out and looked at it: a small, pale-green ball that glittered dimly in the half-light. Absently, she ran her other hand over its smooth surface.

_No more darkness. No more death. No more tests. No more pain. _

_I will end it, Even. I swear it. _


	26. Twenty Six

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: Elaeus's outfit is inspired by Sabin Rene Figaro of FFVI. Seemed appropriate.

* * *

**Twenty-Six **

"Can I ask a question?"

Riku turned to look at Sora. They had paused a moment at the top of the hill, all looking solemnly on the intimidating fortress that loomed before them.

"Why," Sora continued when no one answered him, "are these things always massively huge and scary-looking? And why is the bad guy always at the very top?"

Riku sighed gently at his friend. His nerves had been pinging from the stress and worry their entire way here, but somehow Sora had managed to ease him with his child-like questions. He smiled slightly, a bit of his old competitiveness reappearing. "He's not always at the very top. I fought Ansem on the first basement of Castle Oblivion."

Sora fixed scrutinizing blue eyes on him. "Yeah, but you had to climb to get there."

"True," Riku replied, remembering those twelve agonizing basements, "but my point is there were still thirteen floors above me."

"Doesn't matter. He was at the top of your climb."

"After I fought him, I didn't _need_ to climb anymore. That's like saying something you're looking for is always in the last place you looked for it. What, you're gonna keep looking after you find it?"

"If he had been in the bottom basement, you still would have had to climb twelve floors to get out."

"Would you two knock it _off_?" Kairi interrupted angrily. Her eyes glinted in a frightening way that made Riku shrink back a bit. Clearly, he wasn't the only one worried. She spun around on her heel and started walking down the hill. Riku heard her mutter, "I swear. Boys are so stupid."

"Uh-oh, someone's in trouble," Reno laughed as he passed them; the red-head was in a _fantastic_ mood having filled several Heartless with holes on their way there. He twirled one pistol around his finger as he walked after Kairi. Cera and Zell followed him, the girl smiling and the boy shaking his head.

Sora and Riku exchanged sheepish glances and hurried to keep up with them.

They saw Elaeus long before he was in earshot. How could they not see him? He stood in the archway of the fortress's outer wall: a giant of a man with fiery hair as bright as Reno's, wearing only a loose pair of white pants bound around his waist with a purple sash. He waited for them with arms crossed over his bare chest and a glower planted firmly on his harsh face.

Zell, Reno, and Cera hung back a bit as Sora and Riku walked up to him with Kairi slightly behind. He lifted his chin as they approached and said in a deep, rumbling voice, "You are not welcome here. Leave."

Riku faced him bravely. "Where's Yuko?" he demanded.

Elaeus smiled slightly but without a trace of humor. "Inside. She came willingly." He repeated, "Leave."

"Not without Yuko," Sora replied, dropping into a more attack-ready stance. "And we have some other unfinished business with you guys. Like getting you the heck off of this world."

Elaeus raised one eyebrow in curious amusement. It was the first trace of emotion the man had displayed. "You wish to fight me?" He asked the question straight, without the usual underlying arrogance that Braig and Dilan had shown. It made Riku shiver with cold. Elaeus didn't need arrogance.

Sora's Keyblade flashed into his hand in response, and Riku quickly followed suit. Behind him, he heard the sounds of Reno's pistols and Cera's rifle being cocked and knew without turning that Zell had lifted up his fists and Kairi had fitted an arrow to her bow. Elaeus slowly ran his eyes over all of them with calm detachment. Then, he lowered his arms to his sides.

"Very well then. Let us proceed."

Two swirling spirals of darkness suddenly appeared at the ends of his arms and disappeared just as quickly, leaving his hands clutching two large battle axes. He cut the air in front of himself several times as a warm-up and then lowered his body into a ready stance. One bare foot ground itself into the dust below him, gaining a solid purchase from which to attack or defend as the situation warranted.

Riku swallowed in anticipation and tightened his grip on Way to the Dawn. Elaeus's face wasn't emotionless anymore. He now glared at the two boys with a fierce anger and hatred.

Beside him, Sora whispered, half in confirmation, half in disbelief, "You beat this guy's Nobody on your own?"

"Well," Riku admitted, "it wasn't easy. And the King kinda helped."

Sora turned wide eyes to him briefly. "Details that would have been nice to know _beforehand_, Riku!"

Riku did not have the chance to reply, for with an earth-shaking cry, Elaeus attacked.

* * *

Yuko wandered through the halls of the fortress, wondering in which of the many rooms she would find Even. All she had to do was goad him into a fight. He would eventually hit her with one of his spells, and rather than try to avoid it, she would embrace it, letting it cover her and the hidden bombs. And then, it would be over. Everything. It would all be over.

_How ironic that I once thought I was the only one of the three of us left alive, and now I'll be the only one to die._ How would they take it? Vincent would understand. If he had been there, he probably would have insisted he do it instead. Better he stayed on Midgar then. This way, he could make Zell understand why she had done it, and this way, Luci would not have her heart broken.

_But Riku will_. Yuko ground her teeth at the unwanted thought. Riku was strong; his heart would heal with time. And he would have had his heart broken anyway. It had been such a pretty lie - that he would wait, that someday they would be together - but it had been a lie all the same. Even though being with him and falling in love with him had lessened her pain, a small part of her had always craved death. Ever since she had faced death in the machine, she had known she would let it take her once she had saved her worlds. Once she had accomplished the task for which the Keyblade had chosen her.

She took a moment to peek into a darkened room just to make sure Even was in fact not in it. Then she continued down the hallway until the next room. She sighed. Surely Ienzo would have noticed she was no longer in her cage. Why hadn't the two of them confronted her yet?

A sudden rumbling froze her feet. Her heart jumped to her throat. She had felt rumbling like that before as she fled the fortress, bleeding from gashes that would leave permanent scars. Elaeus was attacking someone.

"Your friends are here," a gentle voice said from behind her. She whirled to find Ienzo smiling at her in his friendly yet dangerous way. "How curious that you should escape and be wandering the halls just as they show up. Was this a coordinated attack I wonder?"

She lifted her chin and told him truthfully, "They aren't here because of me. I told them to stay away."

"Oh, I think they are here because of you," he answered easily. "Although I believe your other statement." He cocked his head and listened for a moment. They could hear the great man's bellowing now, and the floors and walls of the fortress shook every so often. Yuko watched him, not knowing what to do next. She couldn't use the bombs anymore, not if the others were here as well.

After several long tense minutes, Ienzo dropped his eyes to hers and held out a hand. "Shall we go see them?"

* * *

"Look out!"

Kairi's warning came a split second too late. The ground shot up before Riku and Sora, sending both boys flying backwards into the dust. Coughing from the dirty air, Riku wiped blood out of his eyes. One of the smaller rocks must have cut him that time. He grimaced and quickly wiped the blood on his pants.

Next to him, Sora moaned. "Why does he keep using that attack?"

"I dunno. Maybe because it _works_?"

They saw the huge axe spinning at them at the same time and leapt in separate directions as it buried itself in the ground between them.

"All right," Sora growled. "That's it. I've had enough of this." He found Riku's eyes through the swirling dust. His own eyes flashed with anger and determination. "Riku, stay back!"

"Sora, what - ?"

But Sora ignored him, beginning a long crying crescendo that ended in a blinding flash of light. When Riku lowered his hand from his eyes, he saw Sora had transformed into a yellow outfit and now held two Keyblades. The younger boy hurled himself at Elaeus and began slashing with insane speed.

"Drive Form," Riku murmured to himself. "Right."

Kairi dropped down next to him out of nowhere and quickly applied a Potion to his bleeding head. Riku thanked her briefly, all the while keeping his eyes on Sora. His blades flashed in the sun as they whirled and stabbed. Sora was definitely doing damage to Elaeus, but the enormous apprentice was also managing to block quite a few of the attacks and even get several of his own off which Sora thankfully blocked or dodged. Watching the two fight, Riku realized Sora would tire out before he had finished Elaeus off, and then he would be a sitting duck.

Quickly, Riku emptied his pockets and gave all of his items to Kairi. "Here. Pay close attention and heal me whenever you can."

"What are you doing?" she asked, concern shining in her already-worried eyes.

"I'm going to help him."

"When he's in Drive Form?" she nearly squeaked. "He'll slash you to pieces!"

"Which is why you're going to heal me," Riku patiently explained. He captured one of Kairi's hands and squeezed it gently. "We don't have any time to waste, Kairi. We have to end this. Now."

She took a deep breath and nodded. Giving her hand one final squeeze, he jumped up and ran to help Sora.

* * *

"You don't want to see them?" Ienzo asked lightly when Yuko did not move.

"I do," she answered. "But forgive me if I don't exactly trust you."

He laughed and lowered his hand. Taking a small breath, he opened his mouth to comment further, but a huge tremor surged through the building and forced both of them to struggle for their balance. Once it had passed, Yuko listened carefully for the sounds of the battle, but they had ceased. Ienzo smiled at her, clearly thinking the same thing as she was.

It was over. But who had won?

Slowly, he lifted his hand again. A portal appeared just slightly behind him, beckoning to her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Yuko stepped over to Ienzo and took his hand. He gently pulled her through the portal …

… and out into the front courtyard. Yuko blinked several times from the sudden bright light of outdoors. When her eyes had finally adjusted, she lifted them to the front archway. Her heart sank. There stood Elaeus, back to them, arms crossed as if nothing had happened.

Ienzo wandered up to his comrade and got his attention with a slight cough. "There was a disturbance out here?" he questioned.

"There was," Elaeus answered solemnly. "But I took care of it." He motioned with his head to the area outside the fortress's walls.

Yuko did not want to see, but her feet moved on their own, bringing her into the archway. She gasped sharply when she saw the bodies lying scattered about in the dust. Without thinking, she ran to them.

"Reno, Cera," she whispered, finding them first. He lay with his head on her chest, the ground beneath him stained with pools of deep red, her head partially crushed and her pretty face demolished. "Kairi." A deep cut slashed her open from hip to shoulder. "Zell." Another crushed head and a broken neck also. Yuko shuddered and choked from the horrible sight and the overwhelming sorrow that flooded her. Lifting her eyes - painfully dry even though they ached to stream with tears - she cast them about, searching for the two she had not seen. Where were Sora and Riku?

Slowly, over the sounds of her own dry sobs, she heard the crying of someone else in deep distress. Turning her head, she saw them sheltered against the wall: a bloody, broken Sora being cradled in Riku's arms as he cried.

"Riku!"

His head shot up at the sound of her voice, and she had to hold back a small scream of surprise and fear at the sheer loathing in his fierce green eyes.

"You," he hissed. "What are _you_ doing here? Come to finish what your friend started?" He held Sora closer to his body as if to protect him, even though Yuko could see the sweet bubbly boy would never protect or need protecting ever again.

"Riku, I -"

"You left us," he accused, anger lighting up his face and turning it into something terrible. "You _betrayed_ us!"

"No! I … I told you I had a plan. I told you to stay away."

"Stay away? And leave you here alone? What kind of friend would do that?" His still-wet eyes narrowed. "Oh, yeah, that's right. _Your_ kind."

Yuko fought for breath. The despair from her friends' murders, the shock of Riku's harsh words, the guilt for her own actions, they squeezed her throat closed and pushed against her chest with devastating force. As she gasped and choked, Riku gently laid Sora onto the ground and stood. He wiped the tears from his eyes before fixing them once again on her in fury.

"Well, here I am," he mocked her, holding out his arms. "Come finish me off. Present me as a gift to your new allies." He flicked his wrist, and his Keyblade flashed into life.

"No, Riku," she tried, "I'm not … they're not …" But Riku refused to listen. He flew at her with a deep-throated cry, and Yuko barely had enough time to call her own blade to defend herself. She was so upset, so confused, that he had her on the ground in a matter of seconds, his blade pressing against her neck.

"It's all your fault," he whispered, his eyes filling again with tears. "Sora. Kairi. All the others. _Your_ fault." He pushed a little harder, and Yuko felt the pain, felt her skin begin to tear.

Sadly, she gazed up into his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that had once held so much love and understanding. Now she could see only suffering and terrible hate. If the heart behind those eyes truly did not love her anymore, then perhaps she should die here. Not as a sacrifice to save her world but as a means to ease Riku's suffering. As an exchange for Sora and Kairi. She shut her eyes and let Moonlight Arrow disappear. She waited.

But instead of beheading her, Riku lifted his weapon and stood up. "Bah," he spat, "you're not worth soiling my blade for. Pathetic."

Slowly, Yuko rose to her knees. Well, if he wouldn't …

He snapped around when she recalled her Keyblade, thinking perhaps she would finally fight him, but when she carefully turned the tip of the weapon towards her own chest, he relaxed. And _smiled_. "Huh, maybe you aren't so worthless after all. Go on, then. Pay your debt."

She closed her eyes. How had it come to this? She had planned on dying, yes, but to protect them. So that the war would end quickly with only one more casualty: herself. They would all live and love her in memory. She would be there in the world of light in their thoughts and their conversations. How had it all gone wrong? Riku was the only one left, and he hated her now. Why couldn't she protect anyone? _Why?_

"What's the matter?" his harsh voice bit through her thoughts. "Stop making me wait!"

Wait.

_We're friends, right? Nevermind, I don't need to hear you say it now. I'll wait. _

_I'm sorry. … Don't be. It's okay. I don't mind. _

_I don't love you. … I don't mind. I'll wait. _

_At that moment, I knew, Yuko. I knew that you and I have a future together, and that all we need is time. _

I'll wait.

Yuko opened her eyes. And realized how badly she had played the fool.

She lowered her blade slightly and lifted her gaze to the silver-haired person in front of her. In a low voice, she said, "Riku would never say something like that to me."

His eyes widened, and in that moment, she saw it. Peeking out from underneath long, silver bangs. _Blue_ eyes.

"You're not Riku!" she hissed. In one fluid movement, she dismissed Moonlight Arrow and pulled out a fistful of knives. Crying out in fury, she hurled them at the fake-Riku, and they sent him stumbling backwards until he hit the wall. They lodged in his arms and legs, pinning him into place. As he gasped and whimpered in pain, he changed, returning to his real form.

Yuko rose to her feet and gazed triumphantly at Ienzo. He lifted his head to her, his uncovered eye shining in fear. She could see him struggling to find something to say, a way to patch together the illusions she had shattered. She quickly brought her Keyblade back to her hands and aimed it directly at the center of his chest.

He threw his head back and screamed, and the world dissolved. As the last of his breath faded away and his body began crumbling into dust, the hallway where they had originally been standing resolidified around them. Yuko waited until all the black mist had vanished before beginning to retrieve her knives. As she did so, she could think of nothing other than what a complete and utter fool she had been.

_Riku, please be okay. I'm coming to find you, and you won't have to wait anymore. _

* * *

A/N: Yes, I prefer Master Form to Final Form. I just don't like floating. I absolutely _hated_ Neverland, and don't get me started on the flying carpet battles.

So, let me answer some questions before you ask them. Why didn't Ienzo just kill Yuko himself? Well, I don't know what his weapon is. Does anyone (other than the KH people who aren't telling)? So I had him do what he does best: mind rape. And since it was all an illusion, Riku's Keyblade was also an illusion. He could make Yuko's brain think she was in pain, but he couldn't exactly make it think it just had its head cut off. Hence his need to have her kill herself. Which backfired. Heh.


	27. Twenty Seven

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-Seven **

Sora and Riku lay side by side on the ground, panting.

"That was … harder than … I remembered," Riku gasped out. He lifted a hand and tried to wipe away the sweat that poured from his forehead.

"You're … nuts," Sora offered. "You … know that … right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Just wanted … to make sure … you knew. 'Cause - oof!"

Giggling madly with happiness, Kairi tackled Sora and promptly drove what little breath he had left from his lungs. The boy flailed a bit before giving up, and he draped one tired arm around her shoulders as she attempted to hug him to death. Riku tried laughing at him but found he didn't have the energy.

The sound of feet by his head made him look up into Zell's smiling face. "Hey, that was awesome, you guys! Insanely reckless and stupid, but awesome all the same." He prodded Riku gently with his foot. "But you can't take a nap now. We still have a crazy SeeD to find before she turns us all into barbeque."

_Yuko!_ Riku sat up and immediately clutched his head and groaned. "Too fast. Ow." He successfully resisted the urge to fall back down on the ground and hung his head between his knees instead. "I wonder if this is what a hangover feels like," he commented to no one in particular.

"Dunno," Zell answered him cheerily. "Never had one. Reno?"

"Now _why_," the red-head demanded, "would you assume I would know something like that?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe because you're filthy rich. Didn't you used to spend your weekends partying until you passed out?"

"None of your business."

"Aha! So you did!"

"Boys," Cera chided, "the barbeque, remember?" She knelt down and lifted one of Riku's arms around her neck so that she could help him stand. Once she was satisfied he was all right, she turned to the task of prying Kairi off of Sora. After rescuing the Keyblade Master, she carefully dusted off her jeans, picked up her rifle, and confidently strode through the archway towards the front gate.

Reno sighed happily to himself. "What a woman." Grinning like a fool, he trailed after his girl, and the rest of the party followed.

Once inside, Riku took a moment to look around the fortress's interior. It was surprisingly dull. After the odd, flowery décor of Castle Oblivion and the harsh, blinding rooms of The Castle That Never Was, this place looked almost normal. The simple, straight hallways were lined with doors that opened into large rooms. The stone walls of the hallways were mostly bare although every so often someone had hung a mirror or a small tapestry - probably Ienzo since Riku couldn't see Even taking the time or Elaeus caring. He and Sora began to wander and peek into doors. The rooms themselves had been decorated differently but all for obvious reasons: living quarters, kitchen, exercise room for Elaeus, and tons and tons of rooms dedicated to experimentation and research.

"Okay," Sora said after several minutes of exploration. "Where are the stairs? Let's get climbing."

"We're here for Yuko first," Riku reminded him. "She won't necessarily be on the top floor." His nerves began to strain again. Where was she? This place was so huge. Where should they even start to look?

Sora grinned at him in that cheerfully annoying way of his. "I betcha she is. Either that or she's on the floor directly below. Regardless, we'll need to find the stairs. She's not going to come to us."

"Riku?"

He turned quickly at the sound of the voice. There at the end of the hall, coming down a set of stairs …

"Yuko!"

He took off at a run towards her as Kairi laughed, "You were saying, Sora?" and Sora just grumbled in response.

As soon as he reached her, he pulled her into a tight hug, not caring in the slightest what the others thought of his uncharacteristic display of emotion. She was there. She was alive. He hadn't lost her. She hadn't … He dug his fingers into her back, suddenly terrified of what would happen if he let her go again.

"Riku," she said softly, settling into his neck and shoulder, "I'm so sorry. It was so stupid of me. I never should have … I'm sorry."

"Don't …" he choked out, the fears he had held back beginning to overwhelm him, "Don't ever do that again. Never." He shuddered violently and fought to keep everything in check. He was _not_ going to cry. But all of the stress, the worry, the terror, it was all crashing down on him and threatening to send him into uncontrollable sobs.

"I won't," she soothed him. She tightened her own grip around him. "Never again." Her hands traveled lightly over his lower back as if to smooth away his shaking. "I won't leave you again. Ever."

Still fighting to get control of himself, he buried his face in her hair and tried to breathe. His arms pulled her to him as tightly as he could, so tightly that he thought he might be hurting her, but she didn't complain. She just held him in return, resting with her head on his shoulder and her hands tracing comforting circles on his back. When, several minutes later, he had finally managed to calm himself down, he raised his head and looked down to find her already gazing up at him, as if she had read his mind. The kiss they shared was short and soft, but it sealed a silent promise that neither needed to speak to understand.

When they stepped apart and turned to face the others, Yuko moved so that she stood slightly in front of Riku and pulled his arms around her waist so that he still held her. The action made him inhale sharply in surprise. Since when had _she_ initiated such casual closeness? Something had changed in the brief amount of time they had been apart, and he liked it. He liked it very much.

"I owe you guys an apology, too," she was saying.

"You sure do," Zell answered with his normal grin. "What, did your brain take a vacation or something? Why'd ya go and do something so stupid?"

She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. I let the darkness get the best of me. I'm sorry for my weakness." She lifted her head again with a confused look. "But why are you all here? Didn't you tell them about the bombs?" she asked Reno.

He had slipped his arms around Cera and held her much in the same way that Riku held Yuko. "Sure I did," he replied to her question. "But lover-boy there didn't care a whit. Came flying over to save you like a man possessed."

Riku felt himself start to blush, but the grateful smile Yuko gave him, her head tilted back so that she could see him, banished the embarrassment. She leaned a little more into him, and he briefly tightened his hold on her in response. But then her brow furrowed, and she turned back to the others. "But why the rest of you?"

To everyone's surprise, Sora laughed. "What, you think Riku's the only one willing to risk his life for something he loves?" He gave her a wide grin, one of the ones Riku knew she often found irritating, and said, "We _wanted_ to come. You're worth saving, you know."

In Riku's arms, Yuko sagged slightly, but he could tell she wasn't sad. Just overwhelmed. "Yeah," she replied quietly. "I think I finally do know." After a moment of comfortable silence, she straightened and said, "I heard the fight with Elaeus. You beat him, I'm assuming?"

"Sure did!" Sora answered happily. "Took some doing, but we did it. And now we only have two apprentices left."

Yuko smiled slyly. "One."

Everyone blinked at her. Riku moved her body so he could see her face better and asked, "One? What happened to the other one?"

She grinned at him. "I defeated Ienzo."

"All by yourself?" Sora cried with just a bit too much disbelief.

She turned her head to him and mock-glared with narrowed eyes. "What? You're the only one who can fight, o bright and shiny Keyblade Master?"

"No no, that's not what I meant," he said quickly, throwing up his hands in defense. "I know you can fight. I've seen you. You fight as well as a guy … uh …" His mouth opened and shut a few times in horror as he realized what he had just said. "Um," he finally managed, "I didn't mean that either." He smiled sheepishly at Kairi who was shooting him death glares.

Luckily for Sora, Yuko burst into laughter, effectively rescuing him from the hole he had dug for himself. "If you could see the look on your face …" she teased, mimicking what Sora had said to Dilan. The memory sent Sora and Riku into rounds of laughter with her as the others looked on, confused.

"So," Sora began after they had composed themselves again, "are we ready to finish off the last guy and free these worlds for good?"

"No, wait!" Yuko said. She reached into her belt and pulled out three small greenish balls. "Someone should take these out of here," she explained quietly. "Somewhere safe."

She looked to Reno who had brightened at the sight of his bombs. "Sure, I'll do it." He stepped forward and took them from her hands. "At this point, I think you guys'll do fine without us, so Cera and I will head back to the camps and wait for the good news." He turned to his friend. "Zell? You gonna come, too?"

Zell leveled serious eyes on his old friend. "Well, Yukes? What do you think?"

She considered him for a long moment before answering, "Yeah, I think you should go. The four of us will be able to finish this."

He nodded, smiling. "Then I'll see you later. And when it's over, we'll all go visit Vinnie. Although," he commented to Reno with a huge grin on his face, "I don't know if I should go after all. Wonder if we can trust the future of our worlds on a pair of lovey-dovey couples? Soon as I turn my back, I bet they'll go all rabbity on us."

Reno laughed brightly and slapped the blond on the back. "You're just jealous! Man, you need a girlfriend." He turned his sparkling blue eyes to them. "Good luck, guys. We'll see you later."

"Good luck," Cera echoed, giving them each a bright smile. "Smack that jerk a couple of good ones for us, okay?"

"Yeah, what they said," Zell finished, hooking his thumb at his two friends. Suddenly serious, he closed the distance between himself and Yuko and drew her into a hug. Then he kissed the top of her head, found her eyes with his own, and said, "You be careful, okay?"

"Sure, Zell."

He lifted his head, and his blue eyes rested on Riku. "And you, take care of my girl."

Riku nodded with a smile. Zell nodded back and released Yuko, giving her a small push to go back to Riku's arms. With a final easy wave, he turned and began walking back to the entrance of the fortress, Reno and Cera following hand in hand.

"Well," Sora said when they had disappeared from sight. "You guys ready?"

The other three just nodded to him and smiled. They were ready all right. Ready to end it, once and for all.


	28. Twenty Eight

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-Eight **

_I never dreamed it would turn out like this. Four of The Five gone. Old friends found. New friends made. Success so close I can almost touch it. And a hand lovingly holding on to mine. _

Yuko smiled sideways at Riku as they climbed the stairs to the third floor. His eyes were darting about, watching intently for any Heartless that might appear. They had only met a few on the second floor, but no one doubted that their number would increase the higher they climbed. When he wasn't fighting, Riku had kept a firm grip on Yuko's hand, acting almost possessive of her. She didn't blame him, though, not after what she had just put him through. She would make it up to him later.

A sly grin formed on her face as she thought of all the different ways she could make it up to him. _Cut it out, Yuko. Save the lechery for when you've saved the world_.

Riku caught the grin before she could wipe it from her face. He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Do I want to know what you're thinking?" he asked quietly so that Sora and Kairi, walking in front of them, would not hear.

"Do you remember when I apologized for 'making' you love me, and you said it sounded like I had seduced you just for the fun of it?"

"Yeah."

She smirked at him with an unmistakable gleam in her eye. "I was just thinking that it might be fun to try after all."

His normally pale face flushed, causing her to bite her tongue to keep the giggles down. After a moment of serious blinking and throat-clearing, he replied, "Who are you, and what have you done with Yuko?"

She did laugh at that and took a moment to stop and throw her arms about his neck. "I'm still here," she told him brightly. "I'm just remembering what it feels like to be happy, that's all. I've been such a dark, depressed ball of doom for so long that I had forgotten. That's okay, isn't it?" She smiled up into his face and saw her answer in his love-filled eyes before his lips had even moved.

"It's wonderful," he told her softly and leaned in closer. He would have kissed her if Sora's voice hadn't interrupted them.

"Um, guys, I'm glad for you and all, but Zell had a point."

Yuko buried her face in Riku's shoulder and laughed as he turned his head and addressed his friend who was standing at the top of the stairs with his hands on his hips. "Aw, c'mon Sora. I was only gonna kiss her 'til she couldn't see straight. You should try it with Kairi."

To everyone's surprise, Sora did not immediately turn purple. Instead he answered seriously, "I intend to. _After_ we beat Even. Now come on. Once we're finished here, we'll get you two a room and you can do whatever you want to her."

It was Riku's turn to blush, and Sora grinned from ear to ear at the sight of it. Yuko stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Riku's ear, "I think he got you."

"I think he did," Riku replied, his smile returning. Then, before Sora could say anything else to embarrass them, Riku swept Yuko up in his arms - receiving a surprised shriek in response - and carried her the rest of the way to the third floor.

In spite of Sora's firm belief that Even would be waiting for them on the top floor, he still wanted to explore just about everywhere before they got there. So, just as they had done on the first and second floors, they took their time on the third floor, poking around and investigating anything that looked even remotely interesting. "You wouldn't believe the stuff you can find to use for synthesis," Sora had said in defense of their time-wasting activities. Yuko was so happy to be with them again that she didn't really care one way or the other.

Until she started looking through some random papers on a random desk in a random room. They were yet more scientific notes, done in a sloppy scrawl that Yuko assumed was Even's. Her eyes traveled lightly over the words and diagrams, not understanding a bit of it, but then one name jumped off the page and made her gasp.

_Shiva_.

She gathered up the pages in her hands and began to read in earnest. Why was Even interested in one of the guardians from their old myths? Wasn't he a scientist? Shiva was just a fairy-tale. Why would he care about her?

Sora wandered up to her; he had noticed the intense concentration on her face. "Whaddja find?"

Yuko lifted her head to answer but stopped suddenly. The darkness inside her was raging. Screaming. Calling out … a warning? She shut her eyes and focused on it. It sensed its own kind. A massive influx of darkness tinged with furious revenge. Coming in right next to her and Sora.

"Look out!" she cried, throwing herself at the younger boy just as a portal appeared and a blade sliced through the air where they had been standing. They looked up from the floor to see Even towering over them, a sword in one hand, a huge ice-covered shield in the other, and all the fires of Hell burning in his face.

"I didn't mind Dilan or Braig," he hissed at them. "Even Elaeus can be replaced. But _Ienzo!_ The boy had such a fantastic mind, so much potential. And you _killed_ him!" He swung the sword at them with a mad cry, and they tumbled in opposite directions.

"Wait a minute," Sora spluttered, rising to his feet. "You're not supposed to fight us now. We're nowhere near the top."

"I don't think he cares, Sora," Yuko told him. She flew past the furious apprentice and out the door to the hallway, grabbing Sora on her way past. Kairi and Riku, who had been looking in other rooms, quickly joined them. The four of them gathered together, weapons ready, senses on full alert.

Even appeared in the doorway, his eyes glittering with anger. He swept a contemptuous gaze over them. "This has gone on long enough," he said in a low growl. "I will no longer allow you _children_ to interfere with my plans. It ends …" He lifted the sword up and away from his body until it was level with the ground. " … _NOW_!"

With one fast sweeping motion, Even brought the sword around in an arc in front of him, and a sheet of ice sprang from his blade and flew towards them. They scattered. Yuko rolled when she hit the ground and somehow managed to end up on her feet. She looked up to see Sora already flying at Even, Keyblade extended. Even blocked his attacks with his enormous shield, but Sora kept thrashing at him, much to Yuko's confusion. Then she saw Riku trying to come up behind the apprentice to attack his undefended back. Unfortunately, Even saw him as well, and he sliced his sword at Sora while bringing the shield around to face Riku. Both boys leapt away to safety.

Yuko quickly threw a few daggers of darkness at Even to distract him. He blocked them, as she expected. Somehow they would have to get him out of that doorway. Otherwise they would never have a chance of hurting him at all much less defeating him.

Sora ran forward for another assault, but Even shot another stream of ice from his sword, directly at Sora's legs. The boy could not move in time, and the ice trapped him in place. Even immediately attacked him, but with the shield rather than the sword, pushing down on Sora who pushed back with his Keyblade. With his legs encased in ice and the pressure from above, Sora's body began to buckle, and Yuko knew it was only a matter of time before his bones cracked. Riku came to his aid, slashing at the small space of Even's side that had been exposed. As Even moved the shield to protect himself, Kairi sent a small burst of fire at the ice, melting it enough that Sora could break free. The water pooled around him on the ground.

The sight of the water brought a sudden memory to Yuko's mind. The only time Zell had managed to beat her in a water war. What had he called that tactic? The ole bait and switch?

With a loud cry designed to attract Even's attention, she flew at the apprentice. She swung her Keyblade wildly, like a foolish amateur, and the momentum threw her off-balance. Yelping in surprise, she fell hard on her backside directly in front of Even and stared up at him with shocked, terrified eyes. He grinned down at her, a hungry predator. Still staring stupidly, she backed up on her hands a little away from the door. When his sword came down to slice her in half, she rolled rather than defend herself and then continued to retreat while remaining on the ground, looking scared and helpless. He stabbed at her again and again, missing her by seeming inches each time, too caught up in the thrill of destroying the helpless prey to realize how far she had pulled him from the doorway.

Sora's and Riku's double attack on his now-exposed back alerted him to how badly he had miscalculated. He whirled immediately to defend himself only to have Yuko jump up, her fake fright gone, and shower him with knives. For the next several minutes, the three Keyblade wielders danced around him, avoiding his increasingly desperate sword thrusts and pouncing on his weak spots whenever they presented themselves. Kairi did her part by countering his ice spells with blasts of fire and occasionally sending an arrow at his feet or past his head, causing him to jump and twitch in alarm. By the time he was visibly hurting, he had abandoned all calm and was wildly swiping at them with no aim or forethought.

Then, just as Yuko was thinking they only needed one or two more good hits, Even cried out and raised his sword high above his head. A rainstorm of small, sharp icicles descended on them, filling the entire hallway. Sora and Yuko focused all their attention on blocking the frozen projectiles while Riku jumped to Kairi and shielded them both with a thin aura of light. The distraction allowed Even to retreat several steps and call up a portal. He stepped backwards into it, growling like a trapped beast, and promptly disappeared.

"Blast!" Yuko yelled, watching the last of the dark vapors fade away.

No one said anything else for a long moment. They all knew how close they had been to ending it.

"Well," Sora said finally, "ready to go up to the next floor?" He smiled at them, his cheerfulness dissolving the bad mood that had threatened to take over. Taking Kairi's hand, he started walking in the direction of the stairs, swinging his Keyblade as he went.

Riku walked up to Yuko's side and held out his hand for her to take. She hesitated a moment, her eyes straying to the room where she had seen those papers and the name from a piece of her world's folklore. Something about it bothered her, but she had no idea why. Sighing, she shook her head to clear away the worry and took Riku's hand. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't important.

Together, she and Riku followed Sora and Kairi to the next floor.

* * *

A/N: Even's sword/shield combo was inspired by Cao Ren of the Dynasty Warriors series. I just thought he deserved something sharper than a big shield.


	29. Twenty Nine

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Twenty-Nine **

"You okay?" Riku asked Yuko as they stood in the hallway of the fifth floor. The two of them had finally grown tired of exploring so they had taken to hanging around together while Sora and Kairi wandered.

She lifted her dark eyes to him, and he found himself wondering again about their original color. He had grown so used to black. Would it be strange to see blue gazing at him, to see gold framing her face? Maybe, but it wouldn't last long. He would find her beautiful even if her eyes were different colors and she dyed her hair pink. Definitely strange, but still beautiful.

She shrugged in answer to his question. "I'm fine."

"It's just that you've been quiet ever since Even attacked us," he persisted, noting the slight hesitation in her voice.

She worried her bottom lip for a moment before replying, "I … found something … on one of those desks. It's been bugging me."

"What?"

"Even's apparently been researching Shiva, and I can't for the life of me understand why." When he raised his eyebrows at her in interested curiosity, she asked, "Does your world have any legends about how it was created?"

"Sure. Every world does as far as I know."

"Well, Shiva is part of that legend for our world." She leaned comfortably against the wall and tilted her head back a little. "Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh are the three 'gods' who created Luca, Balamb, and Midgar respectively. Actually, I think they're supposed to be the spiritual embodiments of the worlds or something. I'm not sure. The story didn't interest me that much when I was growing up." She shrugged again. "But I can't understand why Even is interested. They're just made-up." She caught Riku's eyes with her own, and something in his expression made her add, "Right?"

"I guess," he answered noncommittally, but her worry had leapt from her mind to his. He had seen many things in his previous adventures. Many things that should have been "just made-up" had turned out to be real. Mermaids, the God of the Dead, Santa Claus. Riku couldn't stop the small smirk at that thought. Sora had really gone off on him for that one. _"You told me he didn't exist!"_ A few years back, Riku had been confident that he knew everything; since then he had learned just how much he didn't know.

"You _guess_," Yuko repeated with a small smile on her face. "Well, thanks. That was hugely comforting."

He laughed lightly and yanked her from the wall into his arms. Planting a small kiss on her forehead, he said, "Just doing my job."

A small giggle stopped him from doing any more. Kairi stood a few feet away, smiling at them. When she noticed them looking at her, she said, "We're done. Ready to go up?"

"Yeah," Riku answered for the both of them. He scooped up Yuko's hand and started towards the stairs with her. "How many more floors are there?" he asked.

"Just two," Yuko answered as Sora appeared from a room and joined Kairi.

Riku snorted softly. "Guess Sora was right." Although he didn't understand what Even was doing all the way up here. Most of the rooms on the past two floors hadn't even been furnished. "What's up on those floors?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Before now, I've never been higher than the fourth floor."

Her casual statement triggered something in Riku's mind. On the fourth floor, they had found a large room full of dust, seemingly abandoned. In the center had rested a huge pile of scrap metal. Now it made sense. The machine.

Yuko hadn't said a thing.

Riku snuck sideways glances at the girl he loved, searching her for any sadness or worry brought on by her previous experience with this place. He could find nothing. It appeared as if she had finally let go of all her pain. He smiled, his heart swelling from relief, happiness, and pride. Gently, he squeezed the hand he held, causing her to look over at him. She smiled back, confused but not needing to know what had brought on his sudden show of affection.

Ahead of them, Sora stopped at the top of the stairs. From his best friend's sudden frozen alertness, Riku could tell that something was different even before he heard the younger boy's low, drawn-out "Whooooaaaa …"

Pushing Sora out of the way a bit so that he and Yuko could also come to the top, Riku looked about at the sixth floor. Instead of the normal hallways and rooms, the entire floor was one open space. A completely empty open space. Except for the far wall where a large statue of a half-dressed woman stood imposingly and demanded to be noticed. Riku surmised the statue had caused Sora's low-voiced utterance since the room held nothing else of interest.

He ran his eyes over the statue. The sculptor had made her face rather pretty and her body quite shapely although the stone made her skin a strange shade of blue. She had her arms held out to the sides and her head tilted slightly back, eyes closed, lips parted just a bit. Her long hair, styled in several separate plaits, had been sculpted to stand out from her body as if in a stiff wind. It was certainly a different and intriguing piece of artwork, made even more so by its completely bare surroundings. But it wasn't fascinating enough to hold his attention forever.

Shrugging, Riku turned to Yuko to suggest they find the next set of stairs, but when he saw her face, his words stuck in his throat. She was staring at the statue with a mixed expression of disbelief, awe, and fear.

Taking a slow, difficult breath, she whispered, "Shiva …"

* * *

"Shiva …"

She was just so beautiful. Yuko could only stare. The blitzball stadium in Luca had a very nice statue of her overlooking the entranceway, but the woman before them outshone anything any sculptor could ever create. Perhaps she was a bit … _underdressed_ for a goddess of ice, but she was a _goddess_ for crying out loud. She could wear whatever the heck she wanted.

Next to her, Riku cleared his throat slightly. She could feel the others looking at her in varying degrees of confusion and could hear their unspoken question. _What's so mesmerizing about a statue?_ Nothing. Except it wasn't a statue.

Her friends all jumped or cried out in surprise, but Yuko didn't even blink when Shiva lowered her chin and opened her hypnotizing eyes to gaze at them. Those eyes held so much wisdom and experience. Knowledge of ancient secrets that no mortal could even begin to understand. Memories of places, cultures, worlds long since gone and forgotten. But Shiva's deep, penetrating eyes held something else as well. Something that Yuko had sensed the moment she entered the room; something that made her heart want to scream in anguish.

Even had found her - this perfect, powerful goddess of creation and life - and he had filled her with darkness.

"Sora," she whispered, bringing her Keyblade to her hand, "we can't kill her. She's the embodiment of Luca. If we kill her, the entire world will probably disappear."

Sora had seemed surprised that they would have to fight at all, but instead of questioning Yuko, he called up his own blade and replied, "So just knock some sense into her? Okay, I can do that."

"Who is she?" Kairi asked. The younger girl kept her bow on her back, somehow knowing that her magic would be more important in the upcoming battle.

"Shiva," Yuko answered, trying to keep her voice steady. "Frozen Goddess of Luca. And now a fellow victim of the darkness." Shiva had lifted a hand to hover before her face, eyes half-closed and lips moving slightly.

Riku had noticed it as well. "I think we should all move. Fast."

The four of them sprang away from the stairs just as Shiva's Blizzaga spell exploded around the space where they had been standing. Sora recovered quickly and dashed in to engage her, as was his style. She threw several icicles at him as he approached, but he lifted his blade and batted them back at her. The few that hit her did no damage, but she paused as if surprised and confused that her attack had been turned back on herself.

Riku, acting as Sora's backup, took advantage of her distraction to slide up from the other side and slice at her. Shiva did not defend but rather dodged all his attacks, moving with an inhuman agility. She aimed a kick at his head and, when he ducked, followed it up with a breath attack, blowing freezing snow into his face.

The sight of Riku staggering backwards, clutching his face, sparked something within Yuko who until then had hesitated. Shiva may have been a goddess, but she had just _hurt Riku_. Her anger exploded. While Sora leapt and slashed and attempted to land a hit on the agile woman, Yuko ran over to Kairi. She pulled two knives out of her belt.

"Kairi, fire spell."

The younger girl stared at her, confused, but complied, bringing to life a small ball of flame that hovered over her hands. Yuko thrust the tips of the daggers into the fire and watched as they slowly turned white. Kairi, finally understanding, flicked her gaze from the knives, to their target, to Yuko's grinning face. "Don't miss," she said.

Yuko nodded confidently and jerked her head up to get her aim. The knives flew across the room, burning brief trails of red light through the air as they passed. One clattered harmlessly to the ground several feet beyond the goddess, but the other buried itself up to the hilt into her willowy arm. Shiva threw her head back and screamed, the terrible sound making the four mortals clutch their heads in pain as invisible shards of ice dug into their ears. When the goddess opened her eyes again, they fixed their frozen wrath directly on Yuko.

"Look out!" Kairi cried, pushing Yuko to the side just as a huge block of ice appeared from thin air directly above the older girl's head. It crashed down and shattered, sending chunks of freezing ice everywhere. Both girls threw their arms across their eyes to keep from being blinded by the flying chips.

Laughing, Yuko brushed the flakes from her eyes and shook the shards from her hair. "I think she's pissed," she commented lightly to Kairi. She turned her heated gaze to Shiva again and said, "Well, that's what you get for hurting my boyfriend, wench!" Moonlight Arrow flashed into her hand, and she ran off to help Sora who had engaged again. In her haste, she only caught a brief glimpse of the dumbfounded look on Kairi's face.

"I thought you said we're not supposed to kill her," Sora called as she slid up to his side and crashed her blade against a perfectly-shaped leg.

"We're not," Yuko replied, avoiding a blast of snowy air. "But that doesn't mean I can't hurt her. Just a little."

The sound of laughter rang out from the other side of the room - a strange noise to hear in the middle of battle. "I think I'm being protected," Riku's strong voice floated to Yuko's ears. "I'm quite flattered." He appeared from behind Shiva, snow still clinging to his face. Way to the Dawn arced down and very nearly took her arm off. The goddess flipped away from this triple threat and paused to get her bearings.

To Yuko's and Riku's surprise, Sora let his Keyblade vanish. He took each of them by the shoulder and said, "I have an idea." His voice was hushed with hurried excitement. "Can you two hold out for a few minutes on your own?"

"Yeah, sure," Riku answered for them. He caught Yuko's eye, and she nodded to him in agreement.

"Good," Sora replied, and he was gone, back towards Kairi.

Yuko turned her eyes towards Shiva again and saw a smirk on the woman's face that made her suddenly very concerned. She had just opened her mouth to comment to Riku when the _cold_ came. Brewing and billowing like a strong storm. Threatening to overtake the room, the fortress, the _world_ with its death-like chill. Hardly thinking, Yuko took a step in front of Riku to protect him although she had no idea how. Then, just as Shiva lifted her arms above her head in preparation, Yuko remembered the aura of light Riku had used to protect Kairi and realized that, like the palm blasts, he had first used the move with darkness.

Shiva's arms came down just as Yuko lifted her own hands in front of her and concentrated. A huge wall of darkness spread out before them. The outpouring of ice that flew from Shiva's hands met the darkness strongly, but Yuko held it and pushed until the ice began to curl around the wall, creating a freezing world of death everywhere except where she and Riku stood. Frustrated, Shiva stopped her attack. She snapped her fingers, and the ice shattered all around them. Once she was convinced they were safe, Yuko dropped the wall.

"Thanks," Riku said quietly in her ear. "That looked like it would have hurt."

Yuko allowed herself a small smile, but she did not take her eyes from the goddess. "Are Sora and Kairi okay?"

"Yeah, they were far enough back that they weren't hit. In fact -"

"Guys!" Sora called, interrupting Riku. "Get back!"

With all the coldness in the air, Riku's hand felt abnormally warm in hers as he dragged her out of the way. Together they watched as Sora and Kairi ran forward. Yuko snuck a look at Riku and saw the confused look on his face; he had no idea what they were going to do either.

Still several paces from Shiva, Kairi stopped, put her palms together in front of herself, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Yuko gasped as the pillar of light that she had seen in Ienzo's illusion appeared again, this time very real. It rose above Kairi to the ceiling, swirling like a mild tornado. Without hesitation, Sora jumped into it, twisting his body around to face the goddess, and pointed his Keyblade at her. He also closed his eyes, and Yuko could see Sora's light - somehow a slightly different tint - rise from his body and mingle with Kairi's. The light gathered at the tip of the Keyblade and then shot out at Shiva in a wide beam that engulfed the goddess from head to toe.

Yuko inhaled painfully as she saw what was happening. The light flowed over the goddess like a river, and as it passed, it pulled away with darkness in its grip. Shiva stood with arms outstretched and head tilted slightly back as the waves of light stripped her of the invading darkness and carried it away. This had been Sora's idea. To stop the fight by freeing Shiva from the darkness that Even had forced into her. Yuko's heart hurt as she watched. She wanted to run to the light and let it cover her as well, but she realized with a pang of grief that she would never be able to withstand the force of the attack. Shiva was an immortal goddess; Yuko was most definitely not.

When the light finally faded and Sora returned easily to the ground, Shiva stood motionless for several minutes, head bowed and arms hanging loosely by her side. Then, she lifted her head and smiled at Sora and Kairi. After a moment, she turned her head and gave her smile to Yuko and Riku as well. The change in the goddess's expression was so dramatic that Yuko drew in a breath and held it in awe. For several heartbeats, those ageless eyes gazed tenderly into Yuko's. Then, Shiva gently closed her eyes, raised a hand into the air, and shimmered into nonexistence.

Before her beautiful form had disappeared completely, Yuko thought she heard a soft, cool voice whisper, "_Thank you, my child_."

"Argh!" a familiar voice raged from the direction of the stairs. "Will _nothing_ kill you cockroaches?"

Yuko spun on her heel and glared at Even. He glared right back at her, furious for her continued "interference". As she looked at him, her mind flooded with all the ways he had violated her worlds. How he had killed and tortured countless people. How he had turned their homes into ghost towns, their fields into wild lands. And, this latest offense, how he had captured and corrupted one of their ancients, turned something pure and gentle into a monster like himself.

Yuko's blood _boiled_.

"Even!" she yelled, her blade springing to life in her hands. "You are _dead!_ No more running. Right here, right now. We _end_ this!"

In response, Even called a dark mist that produced his sword and shield and lowered his blazing eyes to her. "Fine," he growled. "Now you _die_."

Not bothering to wait for the others, Yuko flew at him, blade at the ready, crying out with all the pain and sorrow of her abused, anguished worlds, determined at last to avenge them.


	30. Thirty

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

* * *

**Thirty **

Her wild, primal scream shook something deep within Riku's heart. "Yuko …" he whispered as she threw herself at the last remaining apprentice. When they met, her blade rang out against Even's sword, sounding ominously like a death knell. But whose death had just been announced?

"C'mon!" Sora cried to both Riku and Kairi, urging them forward to help. But before they could take two steps, four enormous serpents rose from the floor, surrounding them. They hissed and spat, glaring at the three with hungry, beady eyes. Their blue scales glinted like mirrors, and a light fog lifted from their bodies.

_Great, ice again_, Riku thought even before the nearest one opened its giant mouth and shot its frozen breath at him. He dodged and quickly looked over to Yuko as she battled Even. In the midst of a parry and counterattack, the apprentice caught Riku's eye and smirked. Riku immediately understood. Even had called the snakes to keep the others away. He wanted Yuko all to himself.

Kairi's scream brought him back to their current problem. Two snakes had gone for her, and Sora was too busy with the other two to help her. Riku ran to her rescue, slicing at the closest snake and giving it a great gash along its neck. It pulled back with a loud hiss. He turned to deal with the other one but found that Kairi, once it was one-on-one again, had collected her wits and released a fire spell that had all but burned the snake's head off. It lay on the ground, flipping and jerking around madly. Riku carefully approached it and beheaded it.

"Riku!" Kairi warned but too late. Riku turned just in time to see the snake he had previously injured sink its teeth into his arm. He cried out as piercing cold traveled up his arm and into his chest. Hissing gently, the serpent withdrew a bit and flicked its tongue out a few times as if to taste his pain. Way to the Dawn had fallen to the ground, Riku's numb fingers unable to hold the blade, so when the beast approached for another attack, Riku could only watch it in horror. It reared up before him, gazing down at him and obviously relishing the impending kill.

An arrow through the throat stopped the snake's descent, and its eyes widened in shock and pain as a second pierced its snout. Riku watched in relief and admiration as Kairi drove the serpent back with an endless rain of arrows and finally finished it with a well-placed fire spell down its throat. Then, she turned to him, and he felt the tingling warmth of her Cure and tasted the spell's soft honey flavor on his tongue.

"Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.

Riku flexed his fingers and found them to be stiff but movable. "I will be," he answered and, his self-inspection finished, looked around for Sora. The younger boy had killed one of the two snakes that had attacked him, but the second one loomed over him and Riku could see his best friend was hurting. "Go help Sora," Riku told Kairi. She nodded and left him to work the life back into his arm and hand.

The crash of metal on metal drew Riku's attention to the battle raging between Yuko and Even. He noted with surprise that she now held a shield in her other hand. A shield of darkness. A smile spread over Riku's face. _She wields it even better than I did. Amazing._

He reached down to pick up his Keyblade and rose to his feet, preparing to run in and help her, but then he stopped. His eyes had caught a fierce and powerful expression on her face. Carefully, he watched them fight for a few minutes. Yuko clearly didn't need help. She practically had the apprentice dancing for her as she whirled about him. Slowly, Riku lowered Way to the Dawn and leaned back on his heels so that he could watch more comfortably. If something unexpected happened and she suddenly needed him, he would go to her, but for now he would stay out of it.

It was her fight now.

Riku's mind wandered back to that first day he had met her, their fight in the courtyard. She had improved so much. And so many other things had changed as well. Such wonderful things that, before they had begun this adventure, he had only dreamed of. He felt a stupid grin trying to work its way into his face and banished it quickly, concentrating instead on Yuko's attacks. _Wait. Isn't that one of Sora's signature moves?_ The grin came back, and this time he let it. _Little thief._

"Um, Riku?" Sora and Kairi had come up beside him, weapons at the ready. "Aren't you going to help her?"

Riku turned his head slightly to look at his two friends. "Does she look like she needs it?" he asked innocently.

At that moment, Even's ice shield bounced across the floor.

Sora grinned slightly. "Uh, no."

Riku nodded and turned his attention back to the combatants. "Then I'm not going to help. If she can do it herself, she should," he explained. "For her friends, for her worlds, and for herself."

"Gotcha," Sora answered, resting a hand against his hip. He grinned. "Then I guess we wait." Kairi wrapped her hands around his arm and lowered her head to his shoulder. Sora shifted the Keyblade to his other hand and leaned into her, letting his chin nestle into her hair.

Riku smiled at the pair of them. "Yeah," he answered Sora. "We wait." He fixed his eyes on the girl who had claimed his heart and sent her as much silent support as he could. _You can do it, Yuko. I believe in you.

* * *

_

The two swords crashed together and held, their owners pushing into each other with two-handed strength. They had abandoned their shields and fought with blades alone. Even was panting heavily, obviously more used to the laboratory than the field of combat; Yuko, on the other hand, was breathing almost normally, and that blazing determination had not left her eyes.

Even glared over the metal of his sword at her, his eyes narrowed into slits. "_You_," he hissed. "This all started with you. I had the universe at my disposal. All its secrets ready for me to discover. And then _you_ had to come along and ruin all of it!" He pushed violently against her, and she slipped briefly. But when his sword came down to sever her head from her neck, she blocked it easily and pushed them into another locked stalemate.

With a fierce calmness, she answered him, "You aren't worthy of the universe's secrets. You have no regard for life, no sense of ethics or morality. You care for no one except yourself. Even if I hadn't come along, the universe would have found another way to deny you. Knowledge is a gift you have to earn, not just something you can rip from the still-breathing bodies of others."

Incensed, Even yanked his blade free and began slashing at her left and right. Yuko blocked them all, meeting each stroke with her Keyblade. Then, out of nowhere, instead of blocking she lifted up one hand and grabbed the tired apprentice's wrists, effectively halting his most recent arc, and with the other, plunged Moonlight Arrow up to the hilt into his chest.

Even blinked at her. The sword tumbled from his grip and fell to the ground, clattering loudly. For a frozen moment, the two of them just stood there. Then, Even stepped backwards several paces, the blade still within his chest. He lifted a hand and, disbelievingly, wrapped it around the hilt. With a cry, he yanked the Keyblade from his body, allowing the dark mist to pour from him and pool at his feet.

Cold blue eyes lifted to Yuko who had remained where she was, watching him. The mist had risen, and he had begun to fade, tendrils of blackness wrapping themselves around him. His voice shaking with approaching death, he snarled, "So be it, but you … you will come with me!"

A hand shot up, and blackness devoured Yuko. It swirled up beneath her and instantly covered her with its pulsing, living darkness. Half of a scream had escaped her mouth before she had disappeared.

"Yuko!" Riku cried. He ran forward without hesitation and jumped into the black portal just as it and Even vanished.

Sora stood and stared at the empty space in front of him. Small wisps of darkness still swirled about as if to taunt him. They were gone. Riku and Yuko were gone. Swallowed by the darkness.

"Sora," Kairi said, her voice timid and scared. "What do we do now?

* * *

Darkness. 

Eternal darkness.

She was falling into it. Lost. Helpless. And tired. So very, very tired.

Deeper into the darkness. It whispered to her. Soft, comforting words. Give in. Accept. Allow the darkness. Accept death.

Yuko's eyes shot open, and her mind snapped into focus. "No!" she cried into the darkness. "I don't _want_ to die anymore! I have a reason to live now!"

Somehow she managed to twist her body so that it faced upwards. The space above her was as dark as the space below, but she knew that somewhere up there was the light. She stretched her hand towards the place from which she had fallen and _willed_ herself upwards.

Slowly, she felt herself begin to move.

* * *

Riku walked through the Realm of Darkness, searching for her. He had been here so many times before, but this time he knew he didn't belong. He had no power here anymore, even less than he did when he wandered it as only an abandoned heart, and, although he would never admit it to himself, his lack of control over the situation scared him. 

"Yuko," he whispered to the shadows surrounding him. "Where are you?"

* * *

"Sora?" 

He took Kairi's hands and pulled her to him. Gently, he leaned down and gave her a short kiss before drawing her closer into a tight hug. She nestled her head into his neck, and he rested his head on hers.

"Help me, Kairi. Help me find them."

* * *

Yuko repeatedly threw one hand over the other as if climbing. Although she knew she grasped nothing, it seemed to help her force herself upwards. She kept her mind firmly fixed on Riku and the future they would have together. She could feel her heart calling out to him, its strong voice drowning out the evil whispers of the darkness. 

_Riku, I see it now. You won't help me find my light. You _are_ my light._

_

* * *

_

"Naminé," Riku said lowly to the emptiness. "DiZ. Mickey. What do I do?" He had begun to panic, and he could hear it in the tones of his voice. Taking a deep breath, he forced the desperation away and tried to concentrate. His friends couldn't help him. He would have to do this himself.

But how?

If only the King could sense his trouble and send a bit of his power. Like he had done in Castle Oblivion. Or just send him a bit of advice like he had done when Ansem had banished him.

Riku inhaled sharply. Of course. He could find Yuko just as he had found Sora. With his heart.

He shut his eyes and let his heart open to light and love. It filled him from head to toe, opening up paths within his mind that his heart followed. The fear and the panic faded away, leaving him feeling confident and calm. He would find her. Their bond was so strong, their hearts so closely interwoven. All he had to do was want to find her.

_There! _

She was reaching for him, determination on her face as she fought the darkness that held her.

Riku lifted his arm and took her hand.

* * *

"Open your heart to them with me. Lend me your strength. Help me open the door to light."

* * *

Yuko threw her right hand over her left as she continued to climb … 

.. and felt another hand take hers and pull.

Her body jerked forward only to be caught and held by another. She didn't even need to look to know who it was who had pulled her out of the abyss onto solid ground. He had come for her. He had saved her.

She buried her face in the curve of his neck, relishing his warmth. Her breath came in short gasps as her emotions fought with each other over dominance, and her shoulders shook with the force of their battle. His arms held her tightly, one hand soothing her upper back, and he whispered her name lovingly in between light kisses to the top of her head.

"Riku," she murmured into his neck, "I love you so much." Taking advantage of her location, she softly kissed the skin along his collarbone and then traced her lips up to the hollow under his jaw. The sigh that her touch produced made her smile.

His fingers found her chin, and he pulled her face back so that she could look up at him. "And I love you, Yuko," he returned, smiling down at her. Yuko gazed up at him in awe. He was practically glowing; it took her breath away. The way his silver hair shone in the darkness. The way his cool green eyes sparkled. He looked like some sort of angel, come to rescue her from all the evils of the world and take her to never-ending happiness.

Yuko couldn't help herself.

Her hands flew to his face and pulled down as her body leaned up, and she pressed her lips to his with confidence and strength. Her fingers pushed on his jaw as she tried to deepen the kiss, and, surprised, he granted her access. His body stiffened at her boldness, but he quickly recovered, circling her waist with his arms and pulling her closer, forcing her deeper. As soon as she felt him respond, Yuko moved her hands to the back of his neck, draping her arms comfortably over his shoulders and pushing her fingers into his soft hair.

None of the boys she had kissed before had made her feel like this. They had eased her loneliness or set off her hormones, but none of them had ever given her this much warmth. This sense of belonging, of being home. It bubbled up from her heart and overflowed, trickling down her legs and across her arms and rising to the top of her head. Everything tingled and buzzed like she had been hit with a mild form of magic or filled with low-level electricity. She could feel his heart and the love it held for her, could feel his powerful light. It felt so wonderful. She leaned further into his body, trying to taste his light, and opened herself fully to him.

Riku had let her take the lead, but after a while he pulled away and started to kiss her neck as she had done to him. She sighed happily as his lips explored the skin along her jawline and down her throat. But then, he pulled back with a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes opened in confusion and saw him staring at her, a mixed expression of joy and disbelief on his face.

"What --?" she started, but he pivoted her body to the side and began to pull out the elastic in her hair. "Ow," she commented as his rough treatment yanked on a few knots. "What's going on? Riku? What's the --?"

Her voice died abruptly as he turned her back to him and brought a handful of her long hair into her line of sight.

It was _golden_.

She lifted her shocked gaze to him. "And my eyes … ?" she asked hopefully.

"… are blue," he finished, smiling more broadly than he ever had before.

Stunned, she laid her hands over his, fingering her own hair in astonishment. Her breath began to shudder and hitch as the sheer joy flowed over her and threatened to drown her. And then she felt them.

_Tears._

Riku lifted his other hand to wipe them away, but she caught his wrist before he could. "No, don't," she said, laughing as they began to flow down her face. It had been so long, so terribly painfully long. She had endured so much, lost so much, but now it was over. It was over, and she had won. Yuko threw her arms about Riku's neck, laughing and crying in relief and happiness, and he laughed with her, holding her close and supporting her when her knees gave out from the release.

And when the large square of light appeared before them, beckoning them back to their world, Riku took her hand and confidently led her to it without a word. Yuko followed him eagerly. After all, beings of light did not belong in a world of darkness.

* * *


	31. Thirty One

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: I will be writing an Epilogue, but this is the final proper chapter of "The Night Within My Eyes". My thanks to everyone for sticking with me for this long.

* * *

**Thirty-One **

It was over. Villains crushed, peace restored, worlds saved. Time for celebrations and congratulations, explanations and descriptions, compliments and appreciation.

And good-byes.

Riku gently ran his thumb along the inside of Yuko's palm as they sat next to each other in Luca's blitzball stadium. Devalin had arranged a massive celebration for all of them, involving food, parties, and lots and lots of the aquatic sport. He had to admit it was a fascinating game, and at any other time he would have watched it eagerly, just as Sora and Kairi were currently doing. But right now he was a bit preoccupied. The conversation he had had with Zell on Balamb kept nagging at his mind. He had made his decision, but he hadn't told anyone yet.

"You okay?" Yuko asked softly, bringing him out of his thoughts. He smiled into her happy blue eyes and nodded. She smiled back and commented, "I can try to get some of the snacks away from Donald if you want me to try."

Riku looked over at the duck who was busy stuffing his bill with nachos. Who knew the mage liked cheese? "No thanks," Riku replied. "I rather like you with ten fingers."

She laughed lightly and turned back to the game, leaning closer to him so that their shoulders touched. He tried to let go of his concerns and enjoy the game with her, but he couldn't. His mind just wouldn't let him stop thinking about the conversations he still needed to have and all the ways they could turn ugly.

When the buzzer announced halftime, Riku decided he couldn't hold them off any longer. He shifted in his seat and caught his best friend's attention. "Hey, Sora? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Sora bounded out of his seat, full of excitement. Riku led him out to the hallway next to their box seats, and as they walked, Sora gushed, "We just _have_ to tell Tidus and Wakka about this when we get back. They would _love_ it! How the heck do they hold their breath that long anyway?"

"Um, Sora," Riku interrupted him, taking him lightly by the arm to get his attention, "that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What? Holding my breath?"

A short nervous laugh forced its way out of Riku's throat. "No. Not that. About …" he hesitated. "Well, about the islands."

"What about them?"

"I … I'm not going back with you and Kairi." He shrank back a bit, worried about Sora's response to this news.

But Sora only blinked for a moment before saying, "Oh. Okay."

Riku stared at him, not believing he had accepted it that fast. "You're not mad?"

The younger boy broke out into his trademark grin. "Me? Mad? Why would I be mad? You're staying because of Yuko, right? Why would I be upset about that?"

"Well, because you spent all that time trying to find me, and now I'm sending you home and staying behind."

Sora laughed, although Riku didn't understand what was funny. "I looked for you because I didn't know if you were okay or not. Now I do. I mean, yeah, I'm gonna miss you and Kairi will, too, but it's not like this is good-bye forever. You'll write. I'll write. Maybe we'll come visit or you'll come visit us. It's not this huge, life-shattering thing, Riku, so stop looking so freaked out."

Riku stood and stared at him for several moments. Then, before the other boy could protest, he grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "You're the best, you know that?" Riku told him. "The absolute best."

"Heh, thanks. I think." Once Riku had let him go, Sora tilted his head to the side and peered at him. "You sick or something?" he asked playfully. "You're not usually this touchy-feely."

Riku smiled at his best friend. He had been so stupid to think that Sora would be anything other than completely supportive. Sora was never jealous or possessive, never mean-spirited or resentful. He had forgiven Riku for betraying him, had cut out his own heart for Kairi. How could Riku have thought that Sora would be upset that he wanted to stay and help the girl he loved?

Riku grinned at Sora. "Touchy-feely? I'll show you touchy-feely!" And he attacked the younger boy, tickling him mercilessly until the girls finally came out and saved him.

* * *

The night came far too fast for Yuko's liking. At least during the day, she could lose herself in the activities and forget tomorrow. But as night approached and the festivities died down, her mind forced her to remember. 

She had overheard Sora talking to Donald and Goofy about visiting the King and Queen briefly before going back to their islands.

Of course she knew they were going to leave. They had other lives back on their worlds, families, friends. It just hadn't hit her quite so strongly until she had actually heard the planning.

So when night came and Devalin had bid them all a pleasant evening, Yuko visited Riku in the boys' hotel room and invited him out for a walk through the city square.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," she began once they had found a bench tucked away in a corner that gave a great view of the central fountain.

"Yeah," he answered, "me, too." His hand easily found hers and brought it to rest on his knee.

She swallowed, somehow knowing that they had the same topic in mind. Determined to get her say out first, she pressed forward, "I heard Sora talking. You guys will be leaving soon. I wanted to talk to you about that." His head turned to her, but she refused to look at him, choosing instead to watch the moonbeams shine in the running water. "You see, I'd love to come with you. To thank the King personally and to see your home, meet your friends, you know. But I can't right now. There's just too much that needs to be done here."

She sighed and let her eyes wander over the rest of the city. Luca had remained untouched, but Balamb was a mess, and even Midgar had problems that needed addressing. "It's funny," she continued, "I only ever wanted to be a soldier, and that's all my training prepared me for, but I know that, training or not, Dev is going to want me there through every step of the reconstruction. I'm still a symbol after all. One of victory and hope and a 'brighter tomorrow'." She shrugged lightly. "I guess I always will be. So I can't leave. Not now, and maybe not for a while."

Yuko finally turned her head to look at Riku and found no trace of surprise on his face. He had known exactly what she was going to say. For some reason, that hurt even more: the fact that he had anticipated their parting and had probably thought about it as much as she had.

She laid her other hand over the one that already held his. "I'm sorry to make you wait even longer. You've been so patient with me for so long that I really hate to do this to you again. But at least this time I can promise that someday I will come to you." She smiled gently. "I want to watch the sunset on the ocean with you and see this beach where so many of your memories were made. I want to look for seashells with Kairi and go fishing with Sora and sit on the sand with you at night and kiss you 'til you can't see straight." She grinned at the light flush that spread over his face, but the seriousness quickly returned and she asked, "So, will you wait for me just a bit more?"

She had meant the question to be mildly rhetorical -- Of course he would wait for her. He loved her. So when he shook his head no, she nearly choked from shock. "Sorry," he answered with just a hint of teasing in his voice. "I'm through waiting." Yuko couldn't believe it; was he dumping her? But then he continued, "I want to be with you now, no matter where you are or what duty you have to fulfill. And that's why, if it's okay with you, I'm planning on staying here."

Slowly, his words filtered through her initial panic. "Staying?" she echoed. "But what about your family?"

He shrugged. "Sora will explain it to them. That I found a fantastic girl and decided to help her rebuild her world. He and Kairi will probably praise you so much that by the time I do get you to visit, my parents will be ready to adopt you." He smiled at her and ran a hand along her cheek and to the back of her head, playing with her hair.

"Riku …" she whispered as he leaned closer.

"Shh," he replied. "Just kiss me already. My vision is way too clear right now."

Her heart bursting with happiness, Yuko wrapped her arms around his neck and did as she was told.

* * *

Sora noted with amusement that Kairi continued to wave long after the Gummi Ship had taken off and left all their new friends -- and one old one -- behind. He couldn't really blame her; already he missed Riku. But he wasn't about to admit it to anyone, least of all to his girlfriend. 

Sora smiled. _Girlfriend_. Had a nice ring to it. He slipped an arm around her and pulled her a bit closer.

"Sora?" she said, finally dropping her hand to her side.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll ever completely win over the darkness?"

He blinked, surprised by the question. After giving it several minutes of deep thought, he turned her in his arms and cupped her chin in his hand so she would look at him. The lovely light in her eyes warmed his heart.

"I don't know, Kairi," he answered her. "But I do know one thing: it will never win over us."

The End

* * *


	32. Epilogue

**The Night Within My Eyes**

**Description**: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Pairings: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.

A/N: And finally a monster chapter to tie up all the loose ends that I left. I apologize that it took awhile, but my son has a tummy bug.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Yuko pushed open the doors to the Abes Building with such enthusiastic force that they crashed against the walls. She flinched at the sound but then shrugged. Well, she wanted him to know she was here, and this was as good a way as any.

Stepping further into the spacious lobby, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Vincent! You still here?"

"I really doubt he is, blondie," Zell commented as he wandered into the building after her. He looked around at the displays of uniforms, balls, and equipment. "Didn't you say he was coming here first? He's probably moved on."

"Probably," Yuko returned, turning to him. "But I don't have a better idea of where to start looking for him. Do you?"

He shook his head, conceding her point, and walked over to examine some top-of-the-line keeper's gloves. The advertisement next to it promised improved grip and extreme comfort. Zell considered the glass surrounding the product for a moment and then smashed it with his fist. He carefully picked the shards off the gloves before lifting them up to inspect them in more detail.

"Zell!" Yuko reprimanded.

"What?" he asked innocently. "The Heartless did it."

She shook her head disapprovingly at him and then lifted her hands to call out again. But as she took a breath, she heard the rustling of air, the soft _thump_ of feet hitting the ground behind her, and the sharp _click_ of a gun being cocked somewhere behind her head.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" a low voice asked her.

She turned around and met the cold eyes of his double-barreled gun, but she quickly moved her gaze and her smile to his stern face instead. "Vincent, it's me! I've come to get you, just like I said."

His eyes widened as he recognized her face. "Yuko …" he whispered. "You … you're back …"

"… to normal, I know," she finished for him. With one hand, she pushed his gun down, and with the other, she pulled him closer so she could hug him.

"Apparently, her new boyfriend is one heckuva kisser," Zell laughed, putting down the gloves to turn to them. When Vincent's gun clattered to the ground, the blond grinned widely. "Heya, Vinnie. How ya been?"

Vincent stood there in utter shock, halfway into a hug with Yuko, staring at Zell with wide, disbelieving eyes. After several silent seconds, Zell laughed and commented, "Geez, Vinnie, you look like I could just poke you and you'd fall over. What? You thought I was dead or something? Pffft." He waved one hand slightly to indicate how foolish he thought the idea was.

Finally, Vincent regained his ability to function. "Zell!" he hollered, shocking both of his old friends with his uncharacteristic outburst. Dropping Yuko, he flew across the room and tackle-hugged the other boy, stunning his friends even further.

"Whoa!" Zell cried. "Watch it. Don't crush me!"

Vincent pulled back, giving Zell room to breathe, and said, "You're okay. I can't believe you're okay. Yuko and I … we thought …"

"Yeah, I know," Zell replied easily. He picked up a lock of Vincent's long hair and grimaced. "Man, Vinnie, you need a haircut. And what is it with you and Yukes and messing with your eyes? I seriously don't like it." He ran his eyes up and down Vincent's tall frame, taking in his clothes. "Don't like the wardrobe change either." Zell crossed his arms over his broad chest and shook his head.

The light in Vincent's face dimmed, and he swallowed with difficulty. "Yuko didn't tell you?"

"No, I did," she answered for Zell. She walked up to stand beside both of them. "He's just choosing to forget for the moment." After giving Zell a playful punch on the arm, she looked up at Vincent and asked gently, "So, you ready to come back?"

He looked away and refused to meet her eyes. "I … I don't know. I've learned how to control the creatures inside me -- all _four_ of them --" Yuko drew in a hissing breath at the new knowledge. "-- but I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to my old life." His voice dropped even lower. "I'm not sure if I ever will be."

Out of nowhere, Zell laughed, and Vincent visibly jumped. "Old life?" Zell asked with a dramatic wave of his hand. "Who wants an old life? Time for a new life, Vinnie. For all of us." He cocked his head and examined his old friend again. "So you've changed. So what? So have I." He pointed at the claw mark still emblazoned on his face. "Check it out. My badge of honor. And I have _leader experience_ now. Can you believe it? Me!"

A small smirk worked its way into Vincent's lips. "You, Zell? A leader?"

"Darn straight!" he answered, grinning widely. "I've got a fan group and everything."

Yuko laughed at him. "Zell, I hardly think Kain and Kel constitute a fan group."

"It's a start," he protested, frowning briefly at her before returning his smile to Vincent. "And Yukes has changed, too, although she's got her old looks back -- ow!" He rubbed the back of his head and shot Yuko an angry glare.

Yuko resisted the urge to massage her stinging palm; she didn't remember Zell's head being so hard. "I told you not to call me 'Yukes'."

To their joint surprise, Vincent began to laugh. "You two are such _kids_," he said with a smile. "I guess some things never change."

Laughing herself, Yuko slipped one arm around Vincent's elbow and claimed Zell's with the other. She easily led them out the double doors and into the streets of Midgar.

* * *

The Gummi Ship had barely landed before the door burst open and a short black-haired blur cannoned out and slammed into Riku who had been waiting patiently nearby. 

"Hiya!" the offending girl-shaped creature chirped. She stepped back to look at him, easing the pressure on the bone-crushing hug she had inflicted upon him. "You must be Riku! I'm Yuffie. Nice ta meetcha!" She grinned from ear to ear, showing off two rows of impossibly white teeth. "Heeeeey, Sora never told us how _cute_ you were." She raised a hand as if to ruffle his hair, but he managed to wriggle out of her grasp before she could.

"Yuffie," a deep voice scolded from the ship, "leave him alone."

Riku looked past a pouting Yuffie to see a tall brunette descending the exit ramp. The stranger fixed his cool grey eyes on Riku and nodded. "Leon," he introduced himself, not bothering to offer his hand. "Sorry about Yuffie. She insisted on coming."

"Because I'm useful and have a go-get-em attitude!" Yuffie said brightly. Riku noticed that she actually bounced in place.

"That first one is up for debate," Leon commented in a low voice. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the ship's hull. Riku suppressed a smile. He had decided he liked Leon quite a bit.

"And we have tons of experience rebuilding stuff," Yuffie continued, ignoring Leon entirely. "Radiant Garden was a total mess before we came along, and now it's a really nice place to live again with lots of new --" A crash from inside the ship cut her off and grabbed her attention. A muffled string of curses followed it. "Oh, and we brought Cid, too! He's a pain in the butt, but really good at fixing things."

"Well thank you, all of you, for coming," Riku said quickly before Yuffie could go off again. "Everyone truly appreciates it." He focused his attention on Leon and explained, "There isn't much physical that needs to be rebuilt, but both Midgar and Balamb are going to need a lot of help getting their daily lives back on track. And we need supplies desperately. I asked the King for anything he could spare …"

Leon answered his unspoken question with a nod and a small wave of his hand. "We brought a large amount of food and medical supplies with us. Plus some of our tech just in case this world doesn't have it, and …" He smirked gently. "… as Yuffie said, Cid."

"Whatcha talkin' about me like I'm some sort of tool for, eh?" A tall, skinny, and extremely scruffy-looking blond man appeared in the doorway of the ship. He glared pointedly at all of them before disappearing with a mumble of "Darn kids. No respect for their elders." They soon heard more crashing -- and cursing -- from inside.

Yuffie tipped her head to the side like a small bird. "Well, I guess I should go see if he needs help." She skipped up the ramp but stopped and turned to Riku in the doorway. "Oh yeah. Sora told us all about your new _guuuurlfriend_. I can't wait to meet her!" She winked knowingly and disappeared. Seconds later, the cursing tripled in volume.

Leon lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose as if in pain. "I tried to get her to stay home," he apologized to Riku. "I swear I did."

"It's okay," Riku assured him, walking up to stand next to him. "I'll take any help right now. Even the annoying kind."

From under his palm, Leon gazed at Riku for a moment as if evaluating him. Then, with a small but friendly smile he stood up straight and motioned to the ship with his head. "C'mon then. We have work to do."

* * *

"Honestly, Reno, I have no idea why you brought me here." 

"Because you're supposed to help me decide! You're a girl. You should know about these things."

Yuko placed her elbows on top of the glass case and rested her head on her hands. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. For some reason she had agreed to come to the most expensive jewelry store on Luca with the most clueless guy in all of creation. Reno had said that he came to this store often, that they knew him there, and that they should have no trouble getting just what he wanted. The problem was he didn't _know_ what he wanted.

She didn't doubt his claim of coming there often though. As soon as they had walked through the door, the employees had fallen over themselves to get out of the way, and once Reno had explained what they were looking for, the poor girl who hadn't run fast enough had pulled out several display cases for them to examine and then had shrunk back into a corner. Apparently Reno had a temper to match his hair.

"Why are there so many?" he moaned, clutching the fiery locks on either side of his head. "Why can't they just make one kind?"

"Well, think about it," Yuko replied, swallowing her exasperated sigh. "Is Cera just like every other girl out there?"

He spun to stare at her. "Of course not! She's one in a million!"

"Exactly. Completely unique. Just like everyone else. We're all unique, Reno, which is why the people who make stuff for us to buy make lots of different kinds. Now will you just pick one please?"

"But it has to be perfect!" he whined, turning back to the cases. "And you're supposed to be helping me. Which one do you like?"

This time she did sigh. "Why does it matter which one I like? It's for Cera, not me." She stood up straight and pushed his shoulder until he turned away from the sparkling gems and looked at her instead. "Okay, look. We're not getting anywhere like this. Shut your eyes."

"Why?"

"Do it!" she growled, and he complied quickly. She felt slightly guilty at the fear in his face, but forty minutes of dithering had reduced her patience to scraps. "Now, picture Cera in your head." She waited patiently for the smirk to appear before slapping him upside the head. He yelped, but before he could protest, she continued, "Now picture her without including you and your tongue half-way down her throat." Again, she waited, and this time his smile was genuine and loving. She turned his body gently to the cases again. "Okay, now slowly open your eyes, look down at the rings, and pick up Cera's."

He opened his eyes as instructed and, after a small pause, reached down and picked up a ring. The gold band had a large round diamond in the center and two smaller pear-shaped diamonds on either side, turned sideways to look like petals. When he lifted his head to look at her, Yuko could see that the confidence had returned to his face.

"Good," she said with a smile. "Now buy it and let's get out of here."

"Okay," he smiled back. But then a new thought struck him, and his eyes widened in panic. "But how do I give it to her? Candle-lit dinner? Walk in the park?" He chewed his lip, fretting over the details of the proposal. Finally he turned to her and uttered the five words she was dreading with everything she possessed. "What do you think, Yuko?"

With a loud groan, Yuko dropped her head back on the glass. This was going to be the longest day of her life.

* * *

Sora flopped backwards into the sand with a long, drawn-out sigh. Why did girls like shopping so much? And why oh _why_ did they insist on bringing their boyfriends with them? Kairi had taken two hours -- two _hours_ -- to find a dress to wear to Reno and Cera's wedding. He was completely and totally exhausted, and all he had done was sit there and try to come up with new and original things to say about the various outfits that she modeled for him. 

He draped an arm over his eyes and let the sun fill him up with warmth. It felt so good to be back here on the beach, listening to the waves and the small sounds of the birds as they flew overhead. Of course if he stayed here long enough, Riku would punish him somehow for being so lazy. By dropping something heavy on him, or scooping up some water in a bucket and dousing him, or kicking sand all over him until he moved, or …

A sad smile crept over Sora's face. That wouldn't happen now. He was safe from Riku's verbal and physical reprimands. And it still hurt a little.

It had been a full year. One whole year since he had left Riku behind on Luca. They wrote constantly, filling each other in on everything in their lives from the monumental to the mundane, but Sora still missed his best friend. Missed his smirk and his light laugh, his friendly teasing, the way his eyebrows would draw together when he was angry. And Sora missed Yuko, too. Her sparkling smile, her fiery, determined eyes, the way she walked with confidence liked she owned the world but was more than happy to share it with everyone. He really wanted to see how they acted together now. When he had left, they had still been a bit awkward and careful around each other. _They must be really comfortable with each other now, and downright adorable I bet_.

_Patience, Sora. You'll get to see them soon._ The invitation to the wedding had arrived with Riku's last letter. Kairi had been so excited although she had immediately declared that she had nothing suitable to wear; Sora had wisely decided not to mention the dress she had worn to her cousin's wedding just a few months ago. He had been very excited, too. It would be so great to see everyone again. He had wondered how Reno had convinced his father to let him marry Cera, but he guessed the old man wasn't as bad as Reno had said. Either that or Cera had threatened him with her rifle.

And Vincent had come back to Luca, so he'd get to see him again. And meet Luci finally. Oh, and Zell's new girlfriend whose name Riku had completely forgotten to mention. She apparently worked in Luca's Public Library, and Riku said she and Zell were complete opposites and yet somehow perfect for each other. Sora smiled to himself at the thought of all those couples and how domestic they were all getting. Before he knew it, they'd all be planning weddings, buying houses, having kids …

Wait a minute.

Kids? With Kairi? Sora's face suddenly got very warm, and it wasn't from the sun.

"Sooooora …" her voice drifted to him over the sand. "Where are you?"

"Here," he answered, lifted a hand and waving lazily. He forced his voice to remain steady and worked to get the blush out of his cheeks. He really didn't want to have to explain the embarrassment in his face. He didn't think she'd appreciate the pictures of her that his brain had been giving him.

Still with one arm over his eyes, he listened to her feet crunch over to him. Eventually, a shadow fell on his face as she leaned over him and blocked out the sun. "You lazy bum," she chided him. "Get up. Someone's here to see you."

"Great," he answered, deciding to tease her. "There's plenty of space here next to me. Now will you move, please? You're blocking the warmth."

She laughed at him. No, Kairi had _sighed_ at him. Someone else had laughed. Another girl. And then a third, very familiar voice said, "Some welcome we get after being gone so long. Guess we'll just go back since you aren't interested in seeing us."

Sora bolted upright and spun so fast that the sand sprayed. "Riku!" he cried to the smiling figure standing a few feet back from Kairi. He scrambled to his feet and launched himself at the other boy who only barely managed to avoid toppling over. After hugging him fiercely for several seconds, Sora pulled back and took a good look at his best friend. His eyes narrowed. "You _cut_ your _hair_!" he accused.

Riku lifted a hand to the silver locks that now barely reached his shoulders. "Yeah, well, I didn't have much choice."

Yuko appeared next to them, still laughing a bit. "There was an accident involving an ice-cream stand, Yuffie, and a very enraged Leon. Poor Riku got caught in the crossfire and got burned. Literally." She ran her fingers through his hair. "But it'll grow back. And I think he looks cute." She, Sora noticed, had abandoned the ponytail and allowed her golden hair to flow freely down her back. Turning to him, she asked, "Do I get a hug?"

"Yeah!" he answered, released Riku, and promptly tackled her instead. "I'm so glad to see both of you!" He pulled back to look at them both. "What are you doing here?"

Riku shrugged. "We've been working non-stop for so long that we decided we needed a vacation."

"Yeah," Yuko added. "And Riku said he knew this great beach that would be just perfect." She smiled at him with a gentle humor in her face.

"Plus," he finished, "this way we can all go back for the wedding together."

"Sounds great!" Sora told them. He released Yuko and took a step back to be with Kairi. Instinctively, he took her hand, and he noticed that Riku and Yuko had done the same. Smiling broadly, he asked Yuko, "So, wanna have a tour of the islands?"

"Absolutely!"

"All right! Follow me." He quickly dusted the sand off of his pants, and then the four friends walked away from the water and back towards the waiting town.

* * *

A/N: 

First of all, the thank yous! Thank you for reading my massive epic-like fic. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A special thank you to all my reviewers:

Already Stated aka Number II -- Amaya -- Angel of 513 -- blugirl468 -- Creix -- CSOmega -- Darkmoon Fleur -- Death's Mercenary -- dusk -- fuzzynavaljewelry -- Hikari -- J.F.C. -- Katnoelle -- kelia.ukima -- Keruri17 -- Lily Silver -- Miss Nox -- Moonshine's Guide -- NightRoze -- ParisWriter -- phoenixral -- riku-roxas-twilight -- RikuNeo -- sanzo-reload -- Sarah the Slayer -- SK-Seeker -- Sora's Kairi -- Tiphen -- Warp Ligia Obscura -- weixuan18 -- Wingless-Fairy

You guys are just awesome! You make doing this so much more fun.

Now, as to when I'll appear next. I know I promised a FF:AC Kadaj/Yazoo/Loz thing, and I will do it eventually. However, Christmas is going to be at my house this year. One word: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! I will be cleaning from now up until Christmas Eve most likely, especially since my little ones really like to make messes. So don't expect the AC story until next year. If I have time and can surprise you, great, but I really doubt it.

My best holiday wishes to all of you! Thanks again for coming 'round, and I hope to see you again.

-- Karai


End file.
